[Elon Musk Visited Boeing to Discuss Air Force One Delays, CEO Says
Elon Musk, CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX, visited Boeing’s operations to discuss the long-delayed renovation of two 747 jets into the next generation of Air Force One jets, according to Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg. The company has been struggling to deliver the jets on schedule, with the original deadline of 2022 having been pushed back to at least 2027.
Ortberg stated that the company is working with Musk and the Air Force to speed up the delivery of the jets, with the goal of meeting the president’s desire to have the aircraft sooner. “The president wants the airplane sooner, and so we’re working with Elon and the team to figure what can we do to pull up the schedule of that aircraft,” he said.
Musk’s visit to Boeing was reportedly a “constructive” conversation, with Ortberg stating that the company is looking at process improvements to speed up the delivery of the jets. Boeing has already taken a $2.25 billion charge for the two jets, with an additional $1.7 billion in charges for military contracts, including the VC-25B, although it did not break out how much of that cost came from the Air Force One jets.
Boeing’s fourth-quarter results were also discussed, with the company reporting a core operating loss of $4 billion and a full-year loss of $11.8 billion. The company has not reported an annual profit since 2018 and expects to continue to burn cash in 2025, although it believes the rate of cash burn will be “a significant improvement” from 2024.
Musk, as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, is tasked with eliminating wasteful government spending. Although the two Air Force One jets are more than $1 billion over budget each, the cost will fall on Boeing, not taxpayers, as part of fixed-price contracts under which the Air Force will pay $3.9 billion for the two planes.
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