Airbus CEO Claims SpaceX Succeeds by Being a Selfish American Company

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury has praised SpaceX for its groundbreaking achievements. However, he has suggested the company thrives because of its highly concentrated, “selfish” business model—something he believes wouldn’t work in Europe.

Speaking at a German aviation event, Faury highlighted the differences between SpaceX’s approach and Europe’s more collaborative but fragmented space industry.

SpaceX’s Focused Model

“I think what the Americans and what SpaceX have done is amazing,” Faury reportedly said. “It’s amazing and it’s breaking some rules of what we’re doing. It’s very concentrated, where with European projects we are very scattered and distributed.”

SpaceX’s ability to move fast and innovate stems from its “super-concentrated” approach, he suggested – one that European regulations would likely not allow due to antitrust restrictions.

Faury noted that European ventures, like the Ariane programme (a collaboration between multiple countries), are legally required to distribute work across member states. While this encourages cooperation, he argued, it hinders the ability to achieve the scale and speed necessary to compete with SpaceX.

Airbus Faces Challenges in the Space Sector

Airbus, like Boeing, has struggled to keep pace with SpaceX’s dominance in the space industry. In June, Airbus announced nearly $1 billion in charges tied to its space-and-defence division. Last month, the company also revealed plans to lay off 2,500 workers, partly due to the challenges posed by SpaceX’s disruptive entry into the market.

Faury contrasted Airbus’s broader supply chain approach with SpaceX’s model, stating, “[Airbus makes] 20%, we buy 80%. And by buying 80%, you have a large supply base which is pleasing everybody. Well, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is not pleasing anybody except Elon Musk.”

A Call for Change in Europe

Faury acknowledged that Europe might benefit from more mergers and acquisitions to build scale and become more competitive in the space race. “There is room to find more ways of cooperating in Europe to create scale,” he said.

He admitted the current system is too scattered, slowing down Europe’s ability to match SpaceX’s pace and agility. However, changing this approach will require overcoming significant legal and cultural hurdles in pan-European collaborations.