- Kelly Ortberg, the CEO of Boeing, said Elon Musk is a “brilliant guy.”
- Ortberg said Musk is “helping us in a big way” with Boeing’s delayed Air Force One planes.
- The planes were supposed to be delivered in 2024 but have been plagued by multiple delays.
Kelly Ortberg, Boeing’s CEO, said Elon Musk is “helping us in a big way” with its delayed Air Force One planes.
“He’s a brilliant guy, so he’s able to pretty quickly ascertain the difference between technical requirements and things that we can move out of the way,” Ortberg said of Musk while attending an investor conference organized by Barclays on Thursday.
“He’s helping us in a big way. So I’m embracing that, working with the DOGE team to help us improve the delivery,” Ortberg added, referencing the government efficiency commission headed by Musk.
Boeing and Musk did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Boeing was awarded a $3.9 billion contract to deliver “two completed Air Force One replacement aircraft” in 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term. In a statement at the time, the US Air Force said the new planes were to be delivered by 2024.
The delivery date has since been pushed back to at least 2027. Boeing has lost more than $2 billion on the project.
“Now they’re not building the plane fast enough. I mean, they’re actually in default, Boeing,” Trump said in a Fox News interview that aired Tuesday.
“They’ve been building this thing forever. I don’t know what’s going on,” Trump continued.
Last month, Ortberg said in an interview with CNBC that Boeing was working with Musk and DOGE “to figure out what can we do to pull up the schedule of that aircraft.”
Musk has been outspoken about his views on Boeing. In December, Musk criticized Ortberg’s predecessor, Dave Calhoun, and said Boeing is “on a much better track” with Ortberg at the helm. Calhoun was the CEO of Boeing from January 2020 to July 2024.
Boeing’s shares fell by 2.83% when markets closed on Thursday. The company’s shares have fallen by more than 10% over the past 12 months.
In January, Boeing reported a net loss of $3.86 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024. The company lost nearly $12 billion last year.
