London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

Musk Tells SpaceX Team Company Is on Verge of Bankruptcy Amid Troubled Engine Production - Report

Musk Tells SpaceX Team Company Is on Verge of Bankruptcy Amid Troubled Engine Production - Report

SpaceX, which employs 7,000 people, is valued at more than $100 billion. NASA has awarded it a $2.9 billion contract to create a lunar lander capable of carrying astronauts to the moon. However, the current production situation presents a significant obstacle to achieving that goal by the intended date.

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, sent an agitated email to his employees on Friday, encouraging them to work on SpaceX's Raptor engine line over the weekend and calling the production situation a "crisis," Space Explore reported.

According to the report, citing an obtained internal email, Musk stated that the company faced a "genuine risk of bankruptcy" if production of the company's new engine for the Starship rocket does not grow to accommodate a high flight rate of "at least once every two weeks" next year.

"The Raptor production crisis is much worse than it seemed a few weeks ago," Musk emphasized. "We face genuine risk of bankruptcy if we cannot achieve a Starship flight rate of at least once every two weeks next year."

SpaceX is working on a huge next-generation rocket called Starship that will be used to launch freight and people on missions to the Moon and Mars. The firm is testing prototypes at a facility in southern Texas and has already completed several short test flights. However, in order to advance to orbital launches, each rocket prototype will require up to 39 Raptor engines, necessitating a rapid increase in engine production.

The company's boss revealed to his team that he had planned to take the extended Thanksgiving holiday off, his "first weekend off in a long time." But when he discovered how serious the Raptor engine problem was, he changed plans and worked through Friday night and into the weekend.

"Unless you have critical family matters or cannot physically return to Hawthorne, we need all hands on deck to recover from what is, quite frankly, a disaster," Musk wrote.

Earlier, Musk reportedly said that SpaceX plans to launch its Starship rocket into orbit in January from its Boca Chica, Texas, base. Musk had stated that he was unsure if Starship will be able to reach orbit on its maiden attempt. However, he stated that he is "certain" that the rocket would reach space in 2022.

According to Musk, "at least 90%" of Starship's development has been "internally funded thus far."

According to a CNBC report, Will Heltsley, SpaceX's vice president of propulsion, left the company earlier this month, causing a stir. Heltsley was removed from the company's Raptor development line before leaving.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to say whether SpaceX is actually in deep trouble. Musk replied to the email's coverage later on Tuesday, suggesting that bankruptcy is unlikely but not unthinkable in the event of a major global recession.


SpaceX designs the Starship spacecraft, as well as its rockets and boosters, to be totally reusable. Falcon 9 rockets are only partially reusable at the moment.

While the booster and upper component of the rocket can be landed and relaunched, the upper portion of the rocket cannot.

SpaceX defeated Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin in early November, which tried unsuccessfully to halt the contract through the courts. In the satellite internet space, Bezos and Musk are competing to provide a high-speed internet connection to clients from low orbit.

So far, SpaceX has put 1,700 Starlink satellites into orbit, according to the company. It has so far attracted 140,000 monthly users who pay $99 each.

Amazon, Bezos' online retailer, is planning to launch Project Kuiper prototype satellites in the fourth quarter of 2022. At a cost of $10 billion, Amazon intends to have 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
×