---
title: "Guy Quits SpaceX, Creates Pizza Making Robot That “Dumped Melted Cheese Everywhere”"
description: "A pizza-making robot startup experienced a bit of a cheesy mishap: a prototype of the machine sprayed cheese everywhere across the street from SpaceX HQ."
date: "2022-01-19"
modified: "2022-01-19"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/pizza-robot-cheese-spacex"
categories:
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
tags:
  - "pizza"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "the digest"
---

# Guy Quits SpaceX, Creates Pizza Making Robot That “Dumped Melted Cheese Everywhere”

![A pizza-making robot startup experienced a bit of a cheesy mishap: a prototype of the machine sprayed cheese everywhere across the street from SpaceX HQ.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/pizza-robot-cheese-spacex.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Getty Images/Futurism\</em\>*

## Catastro-brie

A pizza making robot startup called Stellar Pizza experienced a bit of a cheesy mishap when a prototype of the machine sprayed cheese everywhere during testing — right across the street from SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.

That was appropriate, because the company is run by former SpaceX engineer Benson Tsai, who worked at the Elon Musk-led company for five years. Now he's turned his attention in a more culinary enterprise, he [told *Insider* in a new inerview,](<https://news.yahoo.com/former-spacex-engineer-says-pizza-100000687.html>) developing a robot designed to churn out pizzas every 45 seconds.

## Muenster Mess

Testing didn't always go smoothly. Three years ago, an early version of the robot "dumped melted cheese everywhere," the engineer told *Insider*, adding that "it's funny, but it's all part of the design process."

Overall, not much was lost, as it's not exactly rocket science.

"It was much cheaper than crashing a rocket to gain insight into our machine," he told the outlet, in a seeming dig at SpaceX's [periodic explosions](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-tank-explodes>).

The machine is designed to fit on the back of a truck and has been serving pies to a number of former coworkers at SpaceX, according to Tsai.

But Musk has yet to take a bite.

**READ MORE:** ["It was much cheaper than crashing a rocket to gain insight into our machine"](<https://news.yahoo.com/former-spacex-engineer-says-pizza-100000687.html>) \[*Insider*\]

**More on pizza:** [*NASA Astronauts Can Now 3D-Print Pizzas in Space*](<https://futurism.com/nasa-astronauts-can-now-3d-print-pizzas-in-space>)

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)