this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2024
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Electric Vehicles
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What if it is Tesla/Elon running the whole vertical?
I don't think Elon would be very good at managing a vertically integrated, domestic supply chain. I definitely think someone better qualified for the task should do it.
SpaceX is actually pretty vertically integrated as compared to Boeing for instance, who have always traditionally relied on outside firms for certain components.
SpaceX builds a huge majority of their components themselves, and it's a massive part of why they have been successful over Boeing with fixed-cost contracts. For example, SpaceX builds all of their own engines, while Boeing contracted out to Aerojet Rocketdyne to produce theirs. In the context of the Starliner, this functionally ballooned costs because the back-and-forth between firms was incredibly inefficient, and it's something SpaceX didn't have to deal with.
That certainly is evidence in favor of Musk's ability to manage a large scale, vertically integrated supply chain, assuming he is the one primarily responsible for managing and overseeing the VI supply chain at SpaceX. However, given his controversial public persona and some of the accusations that have been levied against him, I think someone else would be better suited for the job.
Generally he is "in charge" from a CEO perspective but does not really make day-to-day decisions, which is why everything isn't up in flames. For an example of something managed by Musk day-to-day, look at Twitter, which is perpetually burning.
SpaceX is definitely managed by a good team all things considered, in spite of the fact that the ownership at the top is unhinged.