Elon Musk dings Boeing after Alaska Airlines scare: ‘Prioritized DEI hiring’

Elon Musk issued a warning to Boeing after they allegedly prioritized DEI hiring in recent years, as the Alaska Airlines incident made headlines this week.

In a X post on Wednesday, billionaire Musk asked if customers wanted to fly in an airplane made by a company that prioritizes DEI hiring over safety management.

“Do you want to fly in an airplane where they prioritized DEI hiring over your safety?,” Musk wrote. “That is actually happening.”

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Musk’s post is a reply to James Lindsay’s post exposing a 2022 SEC filing from Boeing.

In the filing, Lindsay underlined Boeing’s incentive plan change which changed from rewarding leadership for increasing profit and prioritizing safety to rewarding them if they hit DEI targets.

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“While our 2021 design incorporated operational performance in the areas of product safety, employee safety and quality, for 2022 we will add two other focus areas critical to our long-range business plan: climate and diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&l),” the filing said.

The filing showed Boeing’s DEI initiative also impacting their supply chain.

“In addition, Boeing co-led industry efforts via IAEG to align on a voluntary industry-wide approach to supplier [Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance] ESG assessment and education,” the 2022 SEC filing said. 

“We further recognize that a diverse and inclusive supply chain helps promote economic growth across diverse communities,” the filing said.

At the end of 2022, Boeing proudly shared their success with their DEI incentive program.

“Also in 2022, for the first time in our company’s history, we tied incentive compensation to inclusion. Our goal was to achieve diverse interview slates for at least 90% of manager and executive openings,” the 2023 Boeing DEI/GEDI report said. 

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“We exceeded that target with 92% of interview slates being diverse, resulting in 47% diverse hires at the management and executive levels,” the end of the letter said. “For 2023, we’ve raised the bar and expect at least 92.5% of those interview slates will be diverse.”

The scrutiny of aircraft manufacturers comes after a Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft’s door blew off mid-flight.

In an interview with CNBC’s Kelly Evans, Calhoun called the mishap a “quality escape.”

“Anything that could contribute,” Calhoun said, when asked what a quality escape is. 

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In an interview with CNBC’s Phil LeBeau on Wednesday, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun discussed airlines finding loose bolts during inspections of their Boeing 737 Max 9 planes.

“Now remember, loose bolt in an aviation application is a bolt that’s under torqued or a gap that you can see that is measured by millimeters, not centimeters,” Calhoun explained. “It’s, nevertheless, it has the same implications.”

The aircraft, which was operated by Alaska Airlines, ultimately forced an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon, but caused no serious injuries among passengers.

The plane’s door panel, which covers an extra emergency exit that is only operable on planes with the maximum capacity, blew off Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 while it was at 16,000 feet and climbing to cruising altitude after departing Portland, Oregon, for Ontario, California. 

The loss of the panel caused the depressurization of the cabin and the plane soon made its emergency landing.

Officials say two cellphones, at least one of which was still intact and in airplane mode, were found on the ground, and the door plug, considered a key component, was recovered from a Portland school teacher’s backyard. 

While the National Transportation Safety Board continues its investigation of the incident, the FAA announced Tuesday that it had grounded every Boeing 737-9 Max with a plug door until the aircraft had been determined to be safe.

Boeing did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News’ Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.