I haven't been following the Lunar X-Prize much except as part of the remarkable private space program genesis we are seeing right now.  But it appears from this discussion that the X-Prize Foundation (XPF) is doing a poor job in managing the contest.

But I hadn't counted on the X Prize Foundation, which has done an extremely effective job of administering the contest to make it harder and harder to win.

The XPF has apparently driven out one of the most innovative teams.  And one that had a good chance of winning.  Team Cringely is so confident of its mission plan and technology design that it is continuing full-speed ahead without the carrot of a $20MM prize for winning.

Bureaucracy is as bureaucracy does.  pity.