They always claim that they “need” a certain number of engineers to accomplish a certain mission by a certain date, but all of it is completely arbitrary and dishonest. Elon Musk would sacrifice the sovereignty of every nation on earth, right this instant, if it meant he could go to mars six months earlier. When he complains about “not enough engineers”, what he means is “not enough engineers willing to work for slave wages so that I can fulfill my self-defined timetable for reaching my ever-shifting goal”. If Musk could achieve his personal tech mission more quickly by selling out the entire human race to alien bug men, he wouldn’t hesitate to do so.