FX.co ★ Elon Musk criticizes Boeing's management practices

Boeing has been in the spotlight lately. According to Elon Musk, the US plane giant is facing significant staffing challenges due to an excess of non-technical managers.

The head of Tesla and social media platform X believes that part of the reason Boeing has lost $1 billion in cost overruns is its approach to management. There are "too many non-technical managers at Boeing," the billionaire tweeted. Yet, these professionals oversee technical projects despite lacking hands-on experience in programming and software engineering.

"Managers in software must write great software or it's like being a cavalry captain who can't ride a horse!" Musk stated. As for the rest of the company's management, they should handle broader tasks related to strategic planning and be responsible for decision-making.

The social media mogul's rebuke of Boeing came in response to the company's accusations following a round of layoffs at Tesla and problems at the aircraft manufacturer. Musk's comments also addressed a report about Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Notably, on May 13, the company launched it after years of preparation.

Earlier, in 2014, NASA awarded Boeing $4.2 billion to develop the Starliner spacecraft. Musk-led company SpaceX also received $2.6 billion to build the spacecraft. Both companies were involved in creating a commercial crew system capable of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station. SpaceX spent just over 50% of the funding but outpaced the plane maker by four years, launching its Crew Dragon spacecraft in 2020.