Photo taken by TWL in Joseph, Oregon, 2024; text produced with help from Grok AI

Elon Musk’s 5-step Engineering Process

Source: Everyday Astronaut Interview at SpaceX Starbase, July 30, 2021

During an interview with Tim Dodd of Everyday Astronaut at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, Elon Musk outlined his 5-step engineering process for optimizing design and manufacturing. These steps, which must be followed in order, are designed to streamline innovation and reduce unnecessary complexity at SpaceX and Tesla.

1. Make Requirements Less Dumb

   • Question every requirement, regardless of who provided it, as all requirements are prone to error.
   • Requirements from intelligent people are especially dangerous, as they may not be scrutinized enough.
   • Each requirement must be tied to a specific person, not a department, to ensure accountability and clarity.
   • Musk’s philosophy: “Everyone’s wrong some of the time,” and all designs have flaws—it’s a matter of degree.

2. Delete Unnecessary Parts or Processes

   • Aggressively eliminate parts or processes unless absolutely essential.
   • If you’re not adding back at least 10% of deleted elements, you’re not deleting enough.
   • Resist the bias to add components or steps “just in case” they’re needed.
   • Example: SpaceX removed the pushing separation system for stage separation, using main booster engines and cold gas thrusters instead.

3. Simplify and Optimize

   • Only after deleting unnecessary elements should you simplify and optimize what remains.
   • A common mistake is optimizing something that shouldn’t exist, wasting time and resources.
   • Musk warns against the “mental straightjacket” of traditional education, where engineers are trained to answer questions without challenging their validity.

4. Accelerate Cycle Time

   • Speed up processes, but only after completing the first three steps.
   • Musk cautions: “If you’re digging your grave, don’t dig it faster.” Accelerating a flawed process is counterproductive.
   • Example: Musk admitted to prematurely accelerating processes in Tesla’s Model 3 production, leading to inefficiencies.

5. Automate

   • Automation is the final step, applied only after requirements are questioned, unnecessary elements are deleted, and processes are simplified.
   • Automating too early can entrench wasteful processes. Musk cited automating a Tesla Model 3 battery mat production that was later deemed unnecessary.
   • Remove in-process testing once issues are resolved, as it slows production if acceptance rates are high.

Key Takeaways

• Musk emphasizes the strict order of these steps to avoid common engineering pitfalls, such as optimizing or automating processes that shouldn’t exist in the first place.
• The process reflects his philosophy of First Principles Thinking, challenging assumptions, and focusing on simplicity and efficiency.
• Applied rigorously at SpaceX and Tesla, this methodology supports rapid innovation, as seen in Starship development and cost reductions for Raptor engines (targeting under $1,000 per ton of thrust).