SpaceX Employees Suffer Broken Bones, Head Injuries Due to Company’s Disregard of Safety, Report Claims – By Passant Rabie (Gizmodo) / Nov 10, 2023
According to a Reuters investigation, Elon Musk’s company prioritizes the race to Mars over adhering to safety regulations to meet aggressive deadlines.
SpaceX has undoubtedly cemented its position as a leader in the emerging space industry, but that may have come at a painful price. A shocking new investigation by Reuters documents 600 workplace injuries and one death at Elon Musk’s rocket company, highlighting a dangerous disregard for safety practices for the sake of SpaceX’s ambitious goals.
In its report, Reuters talked to more than a dozen current and former employees and reviewed medical and worker compensation records. The records included reports of more than 100 workers suffering cuts or lacerations, 29 with broken bones or dislocations, 17 whose hands or fingers were “crushed,” and nine with head injuries, including one skull fracture, four concussions and one traumatic brain injury, according to Reuters. The reports also indicated five burns, five electrocutions, eight accidents that led to amputations, and seven eye injuries.
The SpaceX employees described the workplace as chaotic, and that the staff is often undertrained and overworked to the point where they are forced to skip safety procedures to meet the company’s aggressive deadlines. “Elon’s concept that SpaceX is on this mission to go to Mars as fast as possible and save humanity permeates every part of the company,” Tom Moline, a former SpaceX engineer, told Reuters. “The company justifies casting aside anything that could stand in the way of accomplishing that goal, including worker safety.”
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