Additional Coverage:
- Elon Musk is beefing with Boeing again, calling out its CEO and saying he should be able to ‘design aircraft, not spreadsheets’ (newsbreak.com)
Elon Musk is openly criticizing Boeing, suggesting the aerospace titan has strayed from its engineering origins. Boeing, which has been embroiled in safety concerns recently, finds itself under scrutiny. Musk and his company, SpaceX, have been in competition with Boeing for contracts to carry astronauts to the International Space Station.
Musk is taking aim at Boeing yet again, this time targeting its CEO, David Calhoun. In a recent post on the social media platform X, Musk questioned the company’s leadership, particularly poking at Calhoun’s background in accounting rather than engineering. Musk’s criticism follows Calhoun’s decision to resign at year’s end following incidents like the loss of a door plug in flight from a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft.
The aviation community has since speculated on the necessity of engineering expertise at the helm of Boeing, with figures like Emirates President Tim Clark advocating for an engineer CEO. Amidst these discussions, Boeing struggles to secure a successor for Calhoun, faces whistleblower accusations about its safety procedures, and could potentially face legal action from the Department of Justice regarding past aircraft crashes and a recent incident involving an Alaska Airlines plane.
This skirmish isn’t new territory for Musk, who has previously expressed concerns about Boeing’s management structure, especially in relation to the delayed launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which is intended to transport astronauts much like SpaceX’s crafts. Since securing NASA contracts in 2014 at a lower bid than Boeing, SpaceX has notably outperformed its rival, achieving its first manned mission to the ISS in 2020. Meanwhile, Boeing’s Starliner has faced its own setbacks, including indefinite delays due to technical issues.
Boeing has yet to comment on Musk’s latest round of criticisms.