Musk’s ‘fail fast’ ethos has faltered in Washington

Published



On Wednesday night, SpaceX’s Starship rocket erupted into flames shortly after takeoff, marking another high-profile failure in Elon Musk’s “fail fast” development tactics. But to Musk, failure isn’t a bug but a feature. His core philosophy in rockets and government reform? Break things, learn fast, iterate. The beleaguered rollout of the Department of Government Efficiency followed a similar plan.

That mindset might launch rockets, but it won’t as easily drain a swamp.

Full midterm coverage.Deeper analysis.

Get unlimited access to Washington Examiner's reporting, expert analysis, and coverage of the midterm elections.

Get Unlimited Access

Cancel anytime.