Elon Musk Writes SpaceX Production Crisis Means Possible Bankruptcy: 'We Need All Hands on Deck to Recover From What Is, Quite Frankly, a Disaster.' SpaceX's engine production crisis is halting critical progress of its bigger projects.

By Chloe Arrojado Edited by Amanda Breen

Bloomberg | Getty Images

Last Friday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk emailed employees, sharing the news that the production of the company's Raptor engines is in much worse shape than it seemed a few weeks prior. He goes on to urge employees to return to its headquarters in Hawthorne, Cali. for Thanksgiving weekend, writing SpaceX needs "all hands on deck to recover from what is, quite frankly, a disaster."

"Unfortunately, the Raptor production crisis is much worse than it seemed a few weeks ago," Musk wrote. "As we have dug into the issues following exiting prior senior management, they have unfortunately turned out to be far more severe than was reported. There is no way to sugarcoat this."

Related: SpaceX Will Make Elon Musk a Trillionaire, According to Predictions

The Raptor is a critical engine meant for some of SpaceX's bigger projects. The engines are planned to be used on Starship, SpaceX's rocket that will launch cargo and people on missions to the moon and Mars. Starship is also set to carry larger and more capable satellites in SpaceX's Starlink initiative.

"The consequences for SpaceX if we can't get enough reliable Raptors made is that we then can't fly Starship, which means we then can't fly Starlink Satellite V2 (Falcon has neither the volume *nor* the mass to orbit needed for satellite V2). Satellite V1 by itself is financially weak, whereas V2 is strong," Musk wrote.

The CEO took to Twitter to respond to the news of the Raptor production crisis, tweeting that a severe recession puts the company at risk.

Musk finished his email by telling employees that if SpaceX can't achieve a Starship flight rate of at least once every two weeks next year, the company faces "genuine risk of bankruptcy."

Related: SpaceX Starship Sets First Launch for January

Chloe Arrojado

Entrepreneur Staff

Editorial Assistant

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Leadership

7 Telltale Signs of a Weak Leader

Whether a bully or a people pleaser who can't tell hard truths, poor leadership takes many forms.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

Elon Musk's DOGE Is Hiring People Eager to 'Work Long Hours' to Eliminate 'Waste, Fraud and Abuse' in the Government. Here's How to Apply.

The Department of Government Efficiency is hiring U.S. citizens to help cut spending and headcounts in the federal government.

Business News

'I Love Doing Product Reviews': Bill Gates Stepped Down from Microsoft in 2020, But Admits He Still Spends 15% of His Time Working at the Company

In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, Gates also said he is still close with Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella.

Business News

'Everyone Can Profit From It': What Is DeepSeek? China's 'Cheap' to Make AI Chatbot Climbs to the Top of Apple, Google U.S. App Stores

DeepSeek researchers claim it was developed for less than $6 million, a contrast to the $100 million it takes U.S. tech startups to create AI.

Business News

Uber's CEO Says Drivers Have About 10 Years Left Before They Will Be Replaced

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says the jobs of human drivers are safe for the next decade, but after that, another type of driver will take over.