--- title: "Elon Musk Admits That He’s Not Sure Starship Will Even Work" description: "SpaceX CEO Elon Musk seems to have admitted that he's not positive his forthcoming Starship is going to work." date: "2021-12-07" modified: "2021-12-07" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-not-sure-starship" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Admits That He’s Not Sure Starship Will Even Work ![SpaceX CEO Elon Musk seems to have admitted that he's not positive his company's forthcoming Starship is going to work.]() *\Image: SpaceX/Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Whoopsie Daisy SpaceX CEO Elon Musk seems to have admitted that he's not positive his company's forthcoming Starship is going to work — just a week after leaked emails revealed that the company is, in Musk's own analysis, [facing bankruptcy](). Musk's comments came during a wide-ranging panel talk given at the *Wall Street Journal*'s CEO Summit. As [*CNBC* space reporter Michael Sheetz noted](), Musk emphasized how "hard" SpaceX's Starship project has been, saying that it "absorbs more of my mental energy than probably any other single thing." "It is so preposterously difficult," he added, "that there are times where I wonder whether we can actually do this." Though it's likely the comment was just braggadocio, its timing does feel telling, as he made it just a week after [admitting in leaked emails]() to SpaceX employees that slow progress on the Raptor engines has put the company at "genuine risk of bankruptcy," and after [hinting at taking the company public](). https://twitter.com/WSJbusiness/status/1468047516373745666 ## Off the Rails During what will definitely be one of his most quotable public appearances lately, Musk made a number of outlandish statements: that we should "[just delete]()" government infrastructure subsidies, that the [decline in birth rates]() is "one of the biggest risks to civilization," and that [the US hasn't accepted]() that "China really is going to be the big kid on the block." Given that context, the commentary does seem a lot like Elon being Elon – but then again, he [doesn't]() [exactly]() have a [great track record](). **READ MORE:** [Elon Musk Says ‘Drugs Probably Make You Age More’]() \[*Bloomberg*\] **More on Musk:** [*Harvard Professor Roasts Elon Musk For Dumb Space Mistake*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()