SpaceX IPO made millionaires; Blue options expired

SpaceX’s record IPO has turned many former employees into millionaires, while ex–Blue Origin workers say Blue Origin’s stock options structure left them with equity that can expire worthless. Documents reviewed by MISRYOUM show Blue Origin options were exercis

When SpaceX went public in a record-setting IPO that valued the company at $2 trillion-plus, some people who once took early risks at the rockets-and-internet company watched their stock options turn into real money—so real that it changed what they could buy.

Across the hiring conversations in this tight labor market, though, another group of workers remembers a different promise: Blue Origin options that were built to pay off only if certain events happened on a timetable—and that, in their cases, now appear to have run out.

Three ex-employees of Jeff Bezos’ rocket maker. Blue Origin. told MISRYOUM that Blue Origin’s unusual approach to equity left them with options that are essentially worthless. They say they watched SpaceX’s rise provide a windfall for early hires. “from engineers to welders to cafeteria workers. ” who received stock options during their time at Elon Musk’s company.

In the documents reviewed by MISRYOUM. Blue Origin’s historic stock options program is described as offering a payout only if the company went public or was sold—and expiring if those events did not occur within 10 years. That structure, the workers say, contrasts sharply with how many other pre-IPO startups handle employee equity.

Blue Origin introduced a new options plan for current employees in April, adding additional ways to cash out.

Blue Origin did not comment.

The promise—and the deadline—behind Blue Origin’s options

Blue Origin introduced a stock equity plan in early 2016, and employees commonly move between Blue Origin and SpaceX. In an email to employees in February 2016. Bezos warned that the options could be “worth a lot in the future. or not much at all. ” and added that he “wouldn’t recommend” employees changing their financial plans expecting a major payout.

In that same message, Bezos said the options should be treated as “long-term lottery tickets that might pay off if a series of things go right.”

A decade later, ex-employees say the “series of things” never reliably arrived for them. They point to how the program worked: internal documents say employees could exercise their options only through a “liquidity event. ” defined as an IPO or a sale of the company. The documents also say all options expired 10 years after the first stock options began to vest. leaving some options with a deadline that has now passed.

One former employee, who joined Blue Origin from SpaceX, said it became clear to them that Bezos was unlikely to sell Blue Origin or take it public. They said their SpaceX position is worth tens of millions of dollars as of the recent IPO, while their Blue Origin options are worth nothing.

“You technically hold this document, but it would almost be like telling someone, ‘Hey, you have the rights to buy the house in your neighborhood next to you if the sun doesn’t rise tomorrow,’” the employee added.

They knew the risk—but still compare it to SpaceX

Every ex-employee interviewed said they joined Blue Origin knowing the options could fail to pay out. Still, they described the equity as far less motivating than what SpaceX offered.

One former Blue Origin employee who turned down an offer to join SpaceX in 2020 said they potentially missed out on life-changing wealth.

“If I had taken that equity, I would be a millionaire now,” they said. “But I don’t regret that for a second.”

That contrast was sharpest in how often employees could convert equity into cash. Ex-employees say SpaceX’s equity scheme was not tied exclusively to a future IPO. They said current and former employees were allowed to sell a portion of their holdings to the company or investors in private liquidity events—events usually held twice a year.

By comparison, Blue Origin’s earlier structure required a liquidity event defined as an IPO or the sale of the company, with the 10-year expiration rule.

Ex-employees described how that difference played out in recruitment conversations when workers moved between the two companies. They said those discussions were fueled by the sheer number of people crossing from SpaceX to Blue Origin.

“One former employee” described meeting welders at Blue Origin who had previously worked at SpaceX and were “decamillionaires.” They said those welders worked at Blue Origin part-time and had “beautiful houses in the Pacific Northwest.” The employee remembered thinking about those earnings when deciding whether to stay.

They said they had been offered a role at SpaceX after working at Blue Origin for several years but turned it down for family reasons.

Another former Blue Origin employee said that after joining Blue Origin in 2018, they regularly encountered new employees coming from Musk’s rocket company.

“I do remember quite a few conversations with those people along the lines of ‘Yeah, if I had not left, I’d be a millionaire,’” the employee said.

How SpaceX’s equity translated into money after the IPO

SpaceX employees received stock options at multiple points: when they joined the company. at their annual reviews. and when they were promoted. according to the former SpaceX and Blue Origin employees interviewed. They also said SpaceX introduced “retention incentive packages” that awarded new options when stock vested, encouraging employees to stay.

One former SpaceX employee said they made equity a major part of compensation.

“They made equity a big part of their compensation package. It was a big deal, especially as the stock started to grow — it became a more important thing to people,” the former SpaceX employee said.

The divergence between the two companies’ equity plans is now visible in a simple comparison the interviewees offered. A SpaceX employee who received 9. 000 stock options when they joined in 2016 and held them without selling would. today. be worth at least $1.35 million. By contrast, a Blue Origin employee with the same number of stock options would have earned nothing from them.

SpaceX’s “catch-up” moment for Blue Origin—and what workers fear

The equity dispute isn’t happening in a vacuum. The workers described a wider sense that SpaceX has pulled ahead in operational momentum, with Falcon 9 regularly carrying satellites into orbit and Starlink growing at a rapid speed.

The ex-employee who turned down SpaceX said they felt Blue Origin’s equity approach gave them little incentive to work the long hours needed to keep pace with Musk’s rocket company.

“I would’ve worked way harder if I had skin in the game, if I knew that those options were going to be worth something,” they added.

Blue Origin’s own timeline is complicated by technical setbacks. In April. Blue Origin unveiled a new stock option plan for employees. with reporting by Ars Technica’s Eric Berger describing the changes as offering more opportunities to exercise options in liquidity events. including potential external funding rounds and company-sponsored tender offers—an approach more in line with SpaceX and other tech firms.

This came at a critical moment for Blue Origin. The company’s huge New Glenn rocket, which rivals SpaceX’s Starship and is a key part of NASA’s plan to return to the moon, blew up on the launch pad last month.

Blue Origin employees now face rebuilding while, the ex-employees said, watching SpaceX counterparts buy second homes and yachts after the IPO-related windfalls.

SpaceX Blue Origin IPO stock options employee equity Jeff Bezos Elon Musk New Glenn Starlink liquidity events tender offers