Elon Musk’s Top Rocket Genius Left SpaceX To Build This

What happens after a SpaceX rocket drops off its payload? For Tom Mueller—SpaceX’s very first employee and the genius behind the Merlin engine—the answer is the foundation of a new multi-billion dollar empire. Forbes Reporter John Hyatt went inside the Los Angeles factory of Impulse Space to see how Mueller is solving the trillion dollar space economy's biggest bottleneck: the last mile. Discover why the man who helped Elon Musk conquer orbit is building a "taxi service for the cosmos," and why he believes the true space age is only just beginning. 0:00 Space’s "Last Mile" Problem 2:24 Meet SpaceX Employee Number One 4:20 The Lower Earth Orbit To Geosynchoronus Orbit Bottleneck 6:22 Inside The Multi-Billion Dollar Rocket Factory 10:39 A Dirt Bike Ride On The Moon Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhyatt/2026/06/07/inside-this-spacex-billionaires-mission-to-build-a-fleet-of-outer-space-taxis/ Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1 Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more: https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes: http://forbes.com Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.