Reuters documented at least 600 previously unreported workplace injuries at Musk’s rocket company: crushed limbs, amputations, electrocutions, head and eye wounds and one death. SpaceX employees say they’re paying the price for the billionaire’s push to colonize space at breakneck speed.

Through interviews and government records, Reuters documented at least 600 injuries of SpaceX workers since 2014. Many were serious or disabling. 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. The cases also included five burns, five electrocutions, eight accidents that led to amputations, 12 injuries involving multiple unspecified body parts, and seven workers with eye injuries.

SpaceX, founded by Musk more than two decades ago, takes the stance that workers are responsible for protecting themselves, according to more than a dozen current and former employees, including a former senior executive.

Musk himself at times appeared cavalier about safety on visits to SpaceX sites: Four employees said he sometimes played with a novelty flamethrower and discouraged workers from wearing safety yellow because he dislikes bright colors.

  • TallonMetroid@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Apartheid Lonnie’s “efficiency” in action. I wouldn’t trust this man to wipe his own ass, let alone with a cabinet position.

    • _stranger_@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I think I heard “Nationalize SpaceX” just now, and I have no complaints. Self funded NASA might get things done.

      • maniii@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        SpaceX can’t survive without govt grants upwards of 8 billion USD ? per year?

        So thats coming out of NASA… which means not self-sufficient …

          • maniii@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            8 BEEELLION USD per YEAR for a Private Business Owner … PLEASE SIGN ME UP ! :-D

            Are you seriously thinking that SpaceX can generate 8 BILLION USD revenue ???

            StarLink probably brings in about 30 to 50 USD million per year … thats not taking into account the cost of StarLink satellite launches … so that is probably break-even or a small loss-leader. ( there are maybe about 80 million StarLink customers ? paying 50 USD per month … )

            Please give me even 1 MILLION USD ! :-D Let alone 8 ! EIGHT ! VIII !!! BEEELLLION DOLLARS !!!

            • _stranger_@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              Well, they’re a private company so it’s not reported. 8 Billion seems to be the consensus on guesses though. I believe the estimates put starlink revenue at roughly 3 billion.

              • maniii@lemmy.world
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                3 months ago

                3 billion from StarLink is not even remotely believable. StarLink does not have a customer base of 100+ million yet.

  • ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net
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    3 months ago

    If the result of getting the world’s richest manbaby to space is a small cost of a bunch of dead and permanently injured people, that’s a cost ol’ Musky is willing to take.

    He made the ultimate sacrifice of employees’ lives so he can get to space and then shitpost about how it was him who did it, then call his naysayers pedophiles.

  • Dave.@aussie.zone
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    3 months ago

    I’ve commented on this previously, but this is essentially either a hit piece, or very poor reporting on Reuters’ part.

    Basically nobody looks at raw numbers for injury statistics. It’s normalised to injures per million man hours worked, and when you take some conservative estimates on the size of SpaceX’s workforce and the time periods involved, you find that they land pretty much in the middle of current “heavy industry” injury rates.

    But it surrrre does look bad if you look at the raw numbers, just like if you looked at the combined raw numbers of, say, 10 steel mills across the country.

    Permalink to my previous, much longer, comment

  • AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works
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    2 months ago

    Is Musk even involved in day to day spacex operations? If he isn’t, what does this have to do with him? Combined with the other comment about how this is statistically average, I’m getting some clickbaity vibes here