I've managed many "10x" engineers. They do exist. These engineers I'm thinking about not only are amazingly productive but solve problems average engineers can't solve no matter how much time you give them.

Their solutions are elegant, performant and survive design changes. Their code is easier to maintain. Paying 2x the average to these people is a steal,as they are a LOT better than that. Not sure how much, but I'd rather have one of them on my team than 3 average engineers (probably more).

I'm not saying average engineers aren't useful workers. They are, they get things done if they aren't incompetent. But they are nowhere near a 10x engineer.

10x engineers aren't perfect. But they are amazing nonetheless.

If you have never worked with one, maybe it's because you had bad luck, haven't been around long enough or haven't worked in great teams. Whatever the reason,once you meet a 10x, you will know it.