Chapter 129

In September 2021, Musk enters intensive engineering mode to overhaul the Raptor engine design, focusing on cost reduction and manufacturing simplification. He identifies Jacob McKenzie as a promising engineer to lead the Raptor program and implements structural changes that put design engineers in charge of production. After a brief pivot to conceptualizing a futuristic new engine called 1337, Musk refocuses the team on iterating the current Raptor into a leaner Raptor 2 capable of higher production rates.

Musk begins daily evening meetings in the SpaceX conference room to address critical issues with the Raptor engine, which has become expensive and difficult to manufacture. He fixates on material waste and pushes the team to switch components to low-cost stainless steel, overruling engineers who suggest copper or other alloys are necessary for heat conduction. During these sessions, Musk identifies Jacob McKenzie, a midlevel engineer managing the valve team, as a potential leader. McKenzie had transferred from Santa Rosa Junior College to UC Berkeley and MIT, where he earned a PhD in mechanical engineering. Musk promotes McKenzie in a late-night text and email, making him directly responsible for the Raptor program. McKenzie brings in automotive manufacturing expertise from Tesla executive Lars Moravy and implements changes that reduce part costs by up to 90 percent. Musk reorganizes the team so design engineers oversee production, moving seventy-five desks next to assembly lines. After several weeks, Musk pivots to designing an entirely new engine called 1337, aiming for sub-$1,000 per ton of thrust and positioning it as essential for Mars colonization. He sends late-night texts emphasizing the urgency and suggests radical simplifications. However, after about a month, he abruptly redirects focus back to improving the current Raptor into Raptor 2, citing the need for immediate production increases to one engine per day. The 1337 exercise, though abandoned as a primary focus, generates simplification ideas that inform the Raptor 2 improvements. By Thanksgiving 2022, McKenzie's team achieves production exceeding one engine per day.