Salvador Hernandez
Wed, June 12, 2024
Elon Musk, shown at a Hollywood event in April, is the subject of a lawsuit that spotlights crude social media posts and alleges retaliatory firings.
(Jordan Strauss / Invision / )
SpaceX and its billionaire owner, Elon Musk, are being sued by eight former employees who allege they were fired after asking the company to address a toxic work culture they say is rife with sexual harassment and discrimination.
The former employees say Musk encouraged an inappropriate work environment in the spacecraft company with his social media posts, where he often announced important company news including launch dates and accomplishments, but mixed in memes and jokes filled with sexual innuendo.
In the complaint, the former SpaceX engineers say the troubling posts weren't just private rantings from its billionaire CEO. SpaceX told employees to consider Musk's posts on X as official statements and news from the company.
"There was no separation on [Elon] Musk's statements and the company's statements," said Anne Shaver, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs. "When employees raised concerns, they were told: 'We can't do anything. SpaceX is Elon, and Elon is SpaceX.'"
A representative for SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk, who owns SpaceX and X, is a prolific user of the social media site formerly known as Twitter. He is known for posts that are questionable at times, attacking politicians, personal opponents and people he disagrees with.
In one post highlighted in the complaint, Musk posted to Chad Hurley, the former CEO of YouTube, "if you touch my wiener, you can have a horse."
In another instance, he posted a picture of Bill Gates with a pregnant-looking stomach with the message, "in case u need to lose a boner fast." In a response to SpaceX competitors, he once posted that they "[c]an't get it up (to orbit) lol."
In one post, he said he was considering making a university in Texas similar to MIT and proposed calling it "TITS."
The online behavior, the lawsuit alleges, seeped into day-to-day work at SpaceX.
"Employees could not escape seeing them or hearing about them," states the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. "Musk's utterances were quickly circulated by email, Teams channels and/or word of mouth and widely discussed."
The lawsuit claims SpaceX's handbook instructs employees to look at Musk's social media feed on X as "a source of approved company news" and encourages employees to share it publicly.
Musk's activity on social media also had another consequence, the lawsuit states: "Musk's conduct of interjecting this juvenile, grotesque sexual banter into the workplace had the wholly foreseeable and intentional result of encouraging other employees to engage in similar conduct."
At SpaceX's Hawthorne offices, the suit claims, company meetings and employees mimicked Musk's humor.
At meetings, the lawsuit alleges, senior engineers called mechanical parts "chodes" and "schlongs." A camera that was placed on the bottom of a second-stage Falcon rocket was referred to as the "Upskirt Camera," and a structure used by astronauts to transfer from SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station was called the "Fun Tunnel," a euphemism for anal sex.
Paige Holland-Thielen, one of the former employees suing SpaceX, alleged that a principal engineer in December 2021 saw a graph on her computer that pointed downward. The engineer made a reference to a penis and asked her, "How can we get it up, up, up?"
Musk, who has been listed by Forbes as one of the wealthiest people on the planet, has long faced allegations of turbulent leadership, including claims of retaliation against those who speak out against him.
When he bought Twitter in 2022, Musk fired a large number of the social media platform's employees, including those who had criticized him, the New York Times reported.
Read more: Elon Musk blasts Apple's OpenAI deal over alleged privacy issues. Does he have a point?
He's also faced allegations of sexual harassment.
Business Insider reported in 2022 that a SpaceX flight attendant was paid $250,000 to settle a sexual misconduct claim, alleging Musk exposed himself to her and offered to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage.
On Tuesday, the day the lawsuit was filed, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had a sexual relationship with a SpaceX intern more than 20 years his junior.
The eight employees — four women and four men — were fired in 2022 at the direction of Musk, the complaint alleges, after they drafted an internal letter asking SpaceX executives to denounce Musk's social media posts.
The letter mentioned the allegations against Musk, as well as troubling social media posts that it stated included "subtle sexual harassment" and "bullying." It also asked executives to "condemn Elon's harmful Twitter behavior."
According to the complaint, Holland-Thielen and Tom Moline were told by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell to "stop flooding employees [sic] communications channels" after they shared the letter on June 15, 2022.
The same day, the lawsuit alleges, Musk asked an HR representative to fly from Texas to Hawthorne, and then ordered officials to fire Holland-Thielen and Moline.
SpaceX continued to investigate the authors of the letter and those involved in drafting the document, the lawsuit states, and fired more employees as a result.
"Musk thinks he's above the law," said Laurie Burgess, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs. "Our eight brave clients stood up to him and were fired for doing so. We look forward to holding Musk accountable for his actions at trial."
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Elon Musk Sued for Sexual Harassment and Discrimination by Former SpaceX Employees
SpaceX and its billionaire owner, Elon Musk, are being sued by eight former employees who allege they were fired after asking the company to address a toxic work culture they say is rife with sexual harassment and discrimination.
The former employees say Musk encouraged an inappropriate work environment in the spacecraft company with his social media posts, where he often announced important company news including launch dates and accomplishments, but mixed in memes and jokes filled with sexual innuendo.
In the complaint, the former SpaceX engineers say the troubling posts weren't just private rantings from its billionaire CEO. SpaceX told employees to consider Musk's posts on X as official statements and news from the company.
"There was no separation on [Elon] Musk's statements and the company's statements," said Anne Shaver, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs. "When employees raised concerns, they were told: 'We can't do anything. SpaceX is Elon, and Elon is SpaceX.'"
A representative for SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk, who owns SpaceX and X, is a prolific user of the social media site formerly known as Twitter. He is known for posts that are questionable at times, attacking politicians, personal opponents and people he disagrees with.
In one post highlighted in the complaint, Musk posted to Chad Hurley, the former CEO of YouTube, "if you touch my wiener, you can have a horse."
In another instance, he posted a picture of Bill Gates with a pregnant-looking stomach with the message, "in case u need to lose a boner fast." In a response to SpaceX competitors, he once posted that they "[c]an't get it up (to orbit) lol."
In one post, he said he was considering making a university in Texas similar to MIT and proposed calling it "TITS."
The online behavior, the lawsuit alleges, seeped into day-to-day work at SpaceX.
"Employees could not escape seeing them or hearing about them," states the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. "Musk's utterances were quickly circulated by email, Teams channels and/or word of mouth and widely discussed."
The lawsuit claims SpaceX's handbook instructs employees to look at Musk's social media feed on X as "a source of approved company news" and encourages employees to share it publicly.
Musk's activity on social media also had another consequence, the lawsuit states: "Musk's conduct of interjecting this juvenile, grotesque sexual banter into the workplace had the wholly foreseeable and intentional result of encouraging other employees to engage in similar conduct."
At SpaceX's Hawthorne offices, the suit claims, company meetings and employees mimicked Musk's humor.
At meetings, the lawsuit alleges, senior engineers called mechanical parts "chodes" and "schlongs." A camera that was placed on the bottom of a second-stage Falcon rocket was referred to as the "Upskirt Camera," and a structure used by astronauts to transfer from SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station was called the "Fun Tunnel," a euphemism for anal sex.
Paige Holland-Thielen, one of the former employees suing SpaceX, alleged that a principal engineer in December 2021 saw a graph on her computer that pointed downward. The engineer made a reference to a penis and asked her, "How can we get it up, up, up?"
Musk, who has been listed by Forbes as one of the wealthiest people on the planet, has long faced allegations of turbulent leadership, including claims of retaliation against those who speak out against him.
When he bought Twitter in 2022, Musk fired a large number of the social media platform's employees, including those who had criticized him, the New York Times reported.
Read more: Elon Musk blasts Apple's OpenAI deal over alleged privacy issues. Does he have a point?
He's also faced allegations of sexual harassment.
Business Insider reported in 2022 that a SpaceX flight attendant was paid $250,000 to settle a sexual misconduct claim, alleging Musk exposed himself to her and offered to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage.
On Tuesday, the day the lawsuit was filed, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had a sexual relationship with a SpaceX intern more than 20 years his junior.
The eight employees — four women and four men — were fired in 2022 at the direction of Musk, the complaint alleges, after they drafted an internal letter asking SpaceX executives to denounce Musk's social media posts.
The letter mentioned the allegations against Musk, as well as troubling social media posts that it stated included "subtle sexual harassment" and "bullying." It also asked executives to "condemn Elon's harmful Twitter behavior."
According to the complaint, Holland-Thielen and Tom Moline were told by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell to "stop flooding employees [sic] communications channels" after they shared the letter on June 15, 2022.
The same day, the lawsuit alleges, Musk asked an HR representative to fly from Texas to Hawthorne, and then ordered officials to fire Holland-Thielen and Moline.
SpaceX continued to investigate the authors of the letter and those involved in drafting the document, the lawsuit states, and fired more employees as a result.
"Musk thinks he's above the law," said Laurie Burgess, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs. "Our eight brave clients stood up to him and were fired for doing so. We look forward to holding Musk accountable for his actions at trial."
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Elon Musk Sued for Sexual Harassment and Discrimination by Former SpaceX Employees
Sara Donnellan
Wed, June 12, 2024
Elon Musk. Taylor Hill/Getty Images
Eight former SpaceX employees have filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the aerospace company and its CEO Elon Musk.
In the Wednesday, June 12, filing obtained by Us Weekly, the ex-employees allege that Musk ran a workplace that “[treated] women as sexual objects to be evaluated on their bra size.” In addition to the sexual harassment claim, the lawsuit accuses SpaceX and Musk of discrimination, wrongful termination, whistleblower retaliation and unlawful business practices.
“[Musk] trumpets Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (“SpaceX”) as the leader to a brave new world of space travel, but runs his company in the dark ages ... bombarding the workplace with lewd sexual banter and offering the reprise to those who challenge the Animal House environment that if they don’t like it they can seek employment elsewhere,” the lawsuit alleges.
The eight former SpaceX employees — Paige Holland-Thielen, Yaman Abdulhak, Scott Beck, Rebekah Clark, Deborah Lawrence, Claire Mallon, Tom Moline and André Nadeau — claim that they challenged the alleged toxic workplace environment in an open letter to management and were then fired from SpaceX.
Elon Musk’s Most Controversial Moments Through the Years: Affair Rumors, Kid Drama, Twitter War and More
“Upon information and belief, Defendant Musk personally ordered the Plaintiffs’ terminations,” the lawsuit claims.
Musk, 52, who bought Twitter and rebranded it as X in 2022, has also been accused of “knowingly and purposefully” creating “an unwelcome hostile work environment based upon his conduct of interjecting into the workplace vile sexual photographs, memes and commentary that demeaned women and or the LGBTQ+ community.”
Hannibal Hanschke-Pool/Getty Images
The lawsuit cites several examples of Musk’s eyebrow-raising tweets, including his infamous “Pronouns suck” post and the time he shared a photo comparing Bill Gates to the pregnant man emoji with the caption, “In case u need to lose a boner fast.”
The former SpaceX employees claim that Musk’s controversial tweets “immediately permeated” the workplace to the point that “employees could not escape seeing them or hearing about them” at work.
“Musk also intentionally drew employee attention to his Twitter feed by frequently using the account to report out company news. For instance, Musk’s idea for ‘TITS’ university was announced in the midst of reporting on a successful rocket launch,” the filing claims. “Musk’s conduct of interjecting this juvenile, grotesque sexual banter into the workplace had the wholly foreseeable and intentional result of encouraging other employees to engage in similar conduct.”
The alleged “pervasively sexist culture” of SpaceX was further perpetuated by the “common” practice of engineers applying “crude and demeaning names to products in an attempt at humor, often at the expense of women and LGBTQ+ individuals,” the lawsuit claims.
“The name ‘Upskirt Camera’ was used for a camera on first stage of the Falcon rocket that views the bottom of the second stage,” the filing alleges, further claiming that “Fun Tunnel,” a euphemism for anal sex, and “B-plugs,” a euphemism for anal sex toys, were used to describe other products.
Us Weekly has reached out to Musk’s team for comment.
The new lawsuit is not the first time Musk has come under fire for sexual misconduct allegations. In May 2022, Business Insider reported that SpaceX had settled a claim with a former SpaceX flight attendant who accused Musk of exposing himself to her on his private jet in 2016 and offering to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage.
Musk reacted to the claims via X after the report was published.
“The attacks against me should be viewed through a political lens — this is their standard (despicable) playbook — but nothing will deter me from fighting for a good future and your right to free speech,” he wrote at the time.
Those allegations reappeared in Wednesday’s lawsuit, with the eight former SpaceX employees claiming that SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell “issued a company-wide email supporting Musk and insisting that the anonymous complainant was lying” at the time.
“Plaintiffs were aghast at SpaceX’s formal response to the allegations of Musk’s sexual harassment — calling out and castigating the alleged victim — as this response obviously undermined, rather than affirmed, employees’ right to be free from sexual harassment,” the filing reads.
Fired SpaceX employees sue the company for wrongfully terminating critics of CEO Elon Musk
The Associated Press
Wed, June 12, 2024
NEW YORK (AP) — Eight former employees sued SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk, alleging that Musk ordered them fired after they challenged what they called rampant sexual harassment and a hostile “Animal House”-style work environment at the company.
The employees, who filed suit in a California state court, detailed their complaints in a 2022 open letter to management they shared via a company intranet. The next day, four of the plaintiffs were fired, they alleged; others were terminated later after an internal investigation.
In January, the federal National Labor Relations Board filed its own complaint against SpaceX based on issues raised by nine fired employees.
Among other workplace concerns, the open letter called on executives to condemn Musk’s public behavior on X — the platform then known as Twitter — and to hold all employees accountable for unacceptable conduct. Musk’s actions included making light of sexual harassment allegations against him — charges that the billionaire denied.
“As our CEO and most prominent spokesperson, Elon is seen as the face of SpaceX — every tweet that Elon sends is a de facto public statement by the company,” the open letter said at the time. The letter also referred to Musk’s actions as a ”frequent source of distraction and embarrassment.”
The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary damages.
The complaint drew connections between Musk's behavior — in particular, his often lewd posts on Twitter — and the working environment at SpaceX. It states that one of the plaintiffs, Yaman Abdulhak, noted that many of the inappropriate examples cited in a 2021 “appropriate behavior” employee training “closely resembled the contents of Musk's tweets.” Abdulhak sent examples of those tweets to the SpaceX human resources director, who took no action, the complaint stated.
SpaceX did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.
Musk and SpaceX sued by former employees alleging sexual harassment and retaliation
David Ingram
NBC
Updated Wed, June 12, 2024
Eight former SpaceX employees are suing the rocket company and its CEO Elon Musk, alleging that Musk personally ordered their firing after they accused SpaceX of tolerating sexual harassment in the workplace.
The eight employees were all fired in 2022 after they circulated an “open letter” within SpaceX alleging that Musk’s “behavior in the public sphere is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment,” according to a copy of the lawsuit provided by their lawyers.
The lawsuit alleges that Musk “runs his company in the dark ages — treating women as sexual objects to be evaluated on their bra size, bombarding the workplace with lewd sexual banter, and offering the reprise to those who challenge the ‘Animal House’ environment that if they don’t like it they can seek employment elsewhere.”
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer, defended the company Tuesday in comments to The Wall Street Journal in an article detailing many of the former employees’ accusations.
Shotwell told the Journal that its reporting painted “a completely misleading narrative” of the company and that “Elon is one of the best humans I know.” She told the newspaper that SpaceX fully investigates all complaints of harassment and takes appropriate actions.
SpaceX Starship rocket. (Brandon Bell / Getty Images file)
The lawsuit alleges several violations of federal and state labor law, including that Musk “engaged in sexually harassing conduct and creation of a hostile work environment personally” and that he retaliated against the employees for “opposing the discrimination, harassment, and hostile work environment that they observed.”
Some of the plaintiffs say they directly experienced sexual harassment, according to the lawsuit. One, Paige Holland-Thielen, an engineer, says that a higher-ranking employee responded to a graph of plotted data by making a “sexual allusion to an erect penis” and asking her, “How can we get it up, up, up?” according to the lawsuit. She reported the matter to SpaceX’s human resources office and didn’t know the outcome, the suit says.
Another plaintiff, engineer Rebekah Clark, said in the lawsuit that she heard comments about breasts at work after Musk made a sexually charged comment on X. She raised her concerns to SpaceX managers at a meeting in 2022 and was told “SpaceX is Elon and Elon is SpaceX,” according to the lawsuit.
And a third, engineer Claire Mallon, says she reported a male colleague to HR for repeatedly bringing up sexually explicit topics with her, including inviting her to a sex party. HR “did not take any discernible action” and the man was promoted, the suit says.
The suit alleges that Musk’s posts on Twitter, now X, encouraged sexually inappropriate language and behavior in the workplace among rank-and-file employees. It cites at least 20 of his posts, including several that make penis references.
NBC News has not independently verified the veracity of the former employees' claims.
The eight firings were already the subject of a complaint against SpaceX brought in January by a National Labor Relations Board regional official, who accused the company of violating federal labor law. SpaceX responded to that complaint with a lawsuit seeking to have the structure of the NLRB declared unconstitutional. The NLRB complaint and the related lawsuit are still pending.
Wednesday’s lawsuit is different from the NLRB complaint because it seeks to hold Musk personally liable for SpaceX’s workplace environment and for the terminations.
“Musk thinks he’s above the law. Our eight brave clients stood up to him and were fired for doing so,” Laurie Burgess, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. "We look forward to holding Musk accountable for his actions at trial."
The lawsuit was filed in California state court in Los Angeles, according to the copy provided by the lawyers.
It comes one week after SpaceX was in a worldwide spotlight for successfully launching its 400-foot Starship megarocket on an uncrewed test flight to orbit and back.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Updated Wed, June 12, 2024
Eight former SpaceX employees are suing the rocket company and its CEO Elon Musk, alleging that Musk personally ordered their firing after they accused SpaceX of tolerating sexual harassment in the workplace.
The eight employees were all fired in 2022 after they circulated an “open letter” within SpaceX alleging that Musk’s “behavior in the public sphere is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment,” according to a copy of the lawsuit provided by their lawyers.
The lawsuit alleges that Musk “runs his company in the dark ages — treating women as sexual objects to be evaluated on their bra size, bombarding the workplace with lewd sexual banter, and offering the reprise to those who challenge the ‘Animal House’ environment that if they don’t like it they can seek employment elsewhere.”
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer, defended the company Tuesday in comments to The Wall Street Journal in an article detailing many of the former employees’ accusations.
Shotwell told the Journal that its reporting painted “a completely misleading narrative” of the company and that “Elon is one of the best humans I know.” She told the newspaper that SpaceX fully investigates all complaints of harassment and takes appropriate actions.
SpaceX Starship rocket. (Brandon Bell / Getty Images file)
The lawsuit alleges several violations of federal and state labor law, including that Musk “engaged in sexually harassing conduct and creation of a hostile work environment personally” and that he retaliated against the employees for “opposing the discrimination, harassment, and hostile work environment that they observed.”
Some of the plaintiffs say they directly experienced sexual harassment, according to the lawsuit. One, Paige Holland-Thielen, an engineer, says that a higher-ranking employee responded to a graph of plotted data by making a “sexual allusion to an erect penis” and asking her, “How can we get it up, up, up?” according to the lawsuit. She reported the matter to SpaceX’s human resources office and didn’t know the outcome, the suit says.
Another plaintiff, engineer Rebekah Clark, said in the lawsuit that she heard comments about breasts at work after Musk made a sexually charged comment on X. She raised her concerns to SpaceX managers at a meeting in 2022 and was told “SpaceX is Elon and Elon is SpaceX,” according to the lawsuit.
And a third, engineer Claire Mallon, says she reported a male colleague to HR for repeatedly bringing up sexually explicit topics with her, including inviting her to a sex party. HR “did not take any discernible action” and the man was promoted, the suit says.
The suit alleges that Musk’s posts on Twitter, now X, encouraged sexually inappropriate language and behavior in the workplace among rank-and-file employees. It cites at least 20 of his posts, including several that make penis references.
NBC News has not independently verified the veracity of the former employees' claims.
The eight firings were already the subject of a complaint against SpaceX brought in January by a National Labor Relations Board regional official, who accused the company of violating federal labor law. SpaceX responded to that complaint with a lawsuit seeking to have the structure of the NLRB declared unconstitutional. The NLRB complaint and the related lawsuit are still pending.
Wednesday’s lawsuit is different from the NLRB complaint because it seeks to hold Musk personally liable for SpaceX’s workplace environment and for the terminations.
“Musk thinks he’s above the law. Our eight brave clients stood up to him and were fired for doing so,” Laurie Burgess, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. "We look forward to holding Musk accountable for his actions at trial."
The lawsuit was filed in California state court in Los Angeles, according to the copy provided by the lawyers.
It comes one week after SpaceX was in a worldwide spotlight for successfully launching its 400-foot Starship megarocket on an uncrewed test flight to orbit and back.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Former SpaceX employees allege Elon Musk and execs appeared in a video joking about spanking coworkers
Geoff Weiss
Wed, June 12, 2024
Former SpaceX employees allege Elon Musk and execs appeared in a video joking about spanking coworkers
Eight former SpaceX employees are suing the company and Elon Musk.
They say they were fired after speaking up about a hostile work environment.
The lawsuit alleges Musk treated women as "sexual objects" and used lewd banter.
Eight former SpaceX employees have sued the company and its CEO, Elon Musk, alleging they were wrongfully fired for speaking out against a hostile work environment in 2022.
The suit, filed in California, notes employees wrote an open letter to SpaceX management about their concerns. Musk then personally ordered their terminations, the suit alleges.
The complaint alleges Musk "runs his company in the dark ages — treating women as sexual objects to be evaluated on their bra size, bombarding the workplace with lewd sexual banter, and offering the reprise to those who challenge the 'Animal House' environment that if they don't like it they can seek employment elsewhere."
The lawsuit accuses Musk and other upper management of appearing in a video that made light of sexual misconduct, which was screened at an employee holiday party.
One scene shows VP of human resources Brian Bjelde "having an employee demonstrate how to spank him in the 'correct' manner," according to the suit.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
"Filing this suit marks an important milestone in our quest for justice, for holding leadership accountable, and for implementing responsible changes in workplace policies," one of the plaintiffs, Paige Holland-Thielen, said in a statement.
The lawsuit accuses SpaceX of creating a hostile work environment, retaliation, failure to prevent harassment, gender discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, and wrongful termination.
The same group of former SpaceX employee previously filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging they were targeted for retaliation.
But that case has been tied up after SpaceX sued the agency and said its enforcement processes violated the US Constitution. In May, an appeals court granted Musk's firm a temporary block that keeps the NLRB from pursuing its case.
Separately, the Wall Street Journal published a report on Wednesday alleging Musk had inappropriate interactions with female SpaceX employees, including a sexual relationship with a former intern.
The refreshed allegations of sexual misconduct come at a complicated time for Musk. On Thursday, Tesla shareholders will vote on Musk's contentious $55 billion pay package, potentially handing the billionaire a massive boost in wealth.
WSJ details Elon Musk's pattern of sexual involvement with SpaceX employees
Musk had sexual relationships with two female employees and asked a third to have his babies.
Steve Dent
·Reporter
Wed, June 12, 2024
Elon Musk had sexual relations with a SpaceX intern who was later hired onto his executive staff as a troubleshooter, The Wall Street Journal reported. He also had an intimate relationship with a second employee and allegedly asked a third woman to have his babies, according to the report. When the latter refused, Musk denied her a raise and complained about her performance, according to the WSJ's sources.
In one case, Musk pursued a relationship with an intern. Later, he contacted her about a fulltime job at SpaceX to "find problems at the company and fix them," according to the report. She became a full-time member of Musk's executive group, something former employees found unusual for someone so junior — despite her talent as an engineer. (The woman told the WSJ that she didn't want to be part of the article and said in an affidavit that her and Musk remained friends.)
Another woman said she was accused by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell of having an affair with Shotwell's husband. The woman reported the event to HR, something that allegedly got back to Shotwell. Shotwell then demanded the woman be removed from the chief executive's office. Musk later had a sexual relationship with the same woman, who has since left the company.
The WSJ said its reporting is based on text message, emails, documents and interviews with more than 48 people, "including former employees, people familiar with Musk’s interactions with female subordinates and friends and family of the women."
Musk didn't reply to the WSJ. In a comment, Shotwell said:
"The untruths, mischaracterizations, and revisionist history in your email paint a completely misleading narrative. I continue to be amazed by what this extraordinary group of people are achieving every day even amidst all the forces acting against us. And Elon is one of the best humans I know."
This is far from the first report about inappropriate behavior at SpaceX, though. Late in 2021, former employees described a "culture of sexual harassment" at the company, including unwanted advances, lewd comments and physical contact. Last year, Musk was accused of sexual misconduct by a SpaceX flight attendant and earlier in 2024, a SpaceX lawsuit claimed repeated instances of gender discrimination and basic safeguarding failures.
Geoff Weiss
Wed, June 12, 2024
Former SpaceX employees allege Elon Musk and execs appeared in a video joking about spanking coworkers
Eight former SpaceX employees are suing the company and Elon Musk.
They say they were fired after speaking up about a hostile work environment.
The lawsuit alleges Musk treated women as "sexual objects" and used lewd banter.
Eight former SpaceX employees have sued the company and its CEO, Elon Musk, alleging they were wrongfully fired for speaking out against a hostile work environment in 2022.
The suit, filed in California, notes employees wrote an open letter to SpaceX management about their concerns. Musk then personally ordered their terminations, the suit alleges.
The complaint alleges Musk "runs his company in the dark ages — treating women as sexual objects to be evaluated on their bra size, bombarding the workplace with lewd sexual banter, and offering the reprise to those who challenge the 'Animal House' environment that if they don't like it they can seek employment elsewhere."
The lawsuit accuses Musk and other upper management of appearing in a video that made light of sexual misconduct, which was screened at an employee holiday party.
One scene shows VP of human resources Brian Bjelde "having an employee demonstrate how to spank him in the 'correct' manner," according to the suit.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
"Filing this suit marks an important milestone in our quest for justice, for holding leadership accountable, and for implementing responsible changes in workplace policies," one of the plaintiffs, Paige Holland-Thielen, said in a statement.
The lawsuit accuses SpaceX of creating a hostile work environment, retaliation, failure to prevent harassment, gender discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, and wrongful termination.
The same group of former SpaceX employee previously filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging they were targeted for retaliation.
But that case has been tied up after SpaceX sued the agency and said its enforcement processes violated the US Constitution. In May, an appeals court granted Musk's firm a temporary block that keeps the NLRB from pursuing its case.
Separately, the Wall Street Journal published a report on Wednesday alleging Musk had inappropriate interactions with female SpaceX employees, including a sexual relationship with a former intern.
The refreshed allegations of sexual misconduct come at a complicated time for Musk. On Thursday, Tesla shareholders will vote on Musk's contentious $55 billion pay package, potentially handing the billionaire a massive boost in wealth.
WSJ details Elon Musk's pattern of sexual involvement with SpaceX employees
Musk had sexual relationships with two female employees and asked a third to have his babies.
Steve Dent
·Reporter
Wed, June 12, 2024
Elon Musk had sexual relations with a SpaceX intern who was later hired onto his executive staff as a troubleshooter, The Wall Street Journal reported. He also had an intimate relationship with a second employee and allegedly asked a third woman to have his babies, according to the report. When the latter refused, Musk denied her a raise and complained about her performance, according to the WSJ's sources.
In one case, Musk pursued a relationship with an intern. Later, he contacted her about a fulltime job at SpaceX to "find problems at the company and fix them," according to the report. She became a full-time member of Musk's executive group, something former employees found unusual for someone so junior — despite her talent as an engineer. (The woman told the WSJ that she didn't want to be part of the article and said in an affidavit that her and Musk remained friends.)
Another woman said she was accused by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell of having an affair with Shotwell's husband. The woman reported the event to HR, something that allegedly got back to Shotwell. Shotwell then demanded the woman be removed from the chief executive's office. Musk later had a sexual relationship with the same woman, who has since left the company.
The WSJ said its reporting is based on text message, emails, documents and interviews with more than 48 people, "including former employees, people familiar with Musk’s interactions with female subordinates and friends and family of the women."
Musk didn't reply to the WSJ. In a comment, Shotwell said:
"The untruths, mischaracterizations, and revisionist history in your email paint a completely misleading narrative. I continue to be amazed by what this extraordinary group of people are achieving every day even amidst all the forces acting against us. And Elon is one of the best humans I know."
This is far from the first report about inappropriate behavior at SpaceX, though. Late in 2021, former employees described a "culture of sexual harassment" at the company, including unwanted advances, lewd comments and physical contact. Last year, Musk was accused of sexual misconduct by a SpaceX flight attendant and earlier in 2024, a SpaceX lawsuit claimed repeated instances of gender discrimination and basic safeguarding failures.
SpaceX sued by fired engineers, alleging Elon Musk allowed ‘pervasively sexist culture’
Reuters
Wed, June 12, 2024
Elon Musk and SpaceX rocket
Rocket maker SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk were sued on Wednesday by eight engineers who say they were illegally fired for raising concerns about alleged sexual harassment and discrimination against women.
The engineers — four women and four men — claim Musk ordered their firing in 2022 after they circulated a letter calling the billionaire a “distraction and embarrassment” and urging executives to disavow sexually charged comments he had made on social media. The lawsuit was filed in state court in Los Angeles.
The plaintiffs cited a series of tweets by Musk, several of which reference his penis, including one from 2022 telling the former CEO of YouTube “if you touch my wiener, you can have a horse.”
The engineers — four women and four men — claim Elon Musk ordered their firing in 2022 after they circulated a letter calling the billionaire a “distraction and embarrassment.” REUTERS
The lawsuit says Musk’s conduct fostered a “pervasively sexist culture” at SpaceX where female engineers were routinely subjected to harassment and sexist comments and their concerns about workplace culture were ignored. Senior engineers, for example, used euphemisms for sexual acts and male genitals to describe rocket components, according to the lawsuit.
“These actions … had the foreseeable and actual result of offending, causing distress, and intruding upon Plaintiffs’ well-being so as to disrupt their emotional tranquility in the workplace,” the plaintiffs said in the lawsuit.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SpaceX has denied wrongdoing, saying the 2022 letter was disruptive and the workers were properly fired for violating company policies. The company has also denied that Musk was involved in the decision to fire the engineers.
Paige Holland-Thielen, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement provided by her lawyers that Wednesday’s lawsuit is an attempt to hold SpaceX leadership accountable and spur changes in workplace policies.
“We hope that this lawsuit encourages our colleagues to stay strong and to keep fighting for a better workplace,” she said.
The eight engineers are already the focus of a National Labor Relations Board case claiming that their firings violated their rights under US labor law to advocate for better working conditions.
SpaceX filed a lawsuit claiming that the labor board’s in-house enforcement proceedings violate the Constitution. A US appeals court last month paused the NLRB case while it considers SpaceX’s bid to block it from moving forward pending the outcome of the company’s lawsuit.
Wednesday’s lawsuit accuses SpaceX and Musk of retaliation and wrongful termination in violation of California law, and further accuses the company of sexual harassment and sex discrimination.
The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and an order barring SpaceX from continuing to engage in its allegedly unlawful conduct.
Elon Musk had sex with SpaceX worker who began as intern, asked another to have his babies: report
Ariel Zilber
Wed, June 12, 2024
Elon Musk had a sexual relationship with a SpaceX employee who started at the company as an intern and was then hired not long after she finished college before she ended things, according to a report.
Musk, who has a fortune valued by Bloomberg Billionaires Index at $198 billion as of Wednesday, also pursued relationships with other female subordinates at his rocket company, including with one woman who was asked by the mogul to bear his children, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
The mogul also carried on a month-long sexual relationship with a third woman who reported to him directly at SpaceX before the two cut ties, according to the report.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reportedly pursued sexual relationships with several female subordinates, including one he hired after she interned at the company. REUTERS
The third woman and Musk were involved romantically after she was accused of having an affair with the husband of another SpaceX executive, it was reported.
The Post has sought comment from SpaceX and Musk.
Musk first met the then-intern in the early 2010s when she was a college student studying engineering.
According to the Journal, Musk and the woman went out for a meal after she sent him ideas about how to improve the company.
Musk and the woman kissed after the two bonded over their love of “Star Wars,” according to the report.
A year later, Musk arranged for the woman to be flown to a resort in Sicily where the two met, the Journal claimed. Musk was in Sicily attending a conference sponsored by Google.
The woman’s passport was in another city, so Musk made arrangements for a friend of the woman to bring it to her on an early morning domestic flight, according to the Journal.
The woman was then booked for a first-class flight to London and then a private jet to Italy, it was reported.
In 2017, Musk offered the woman a role on his executive staff.
SpaceX is Musk’s rocket-building firm whose Starship shuttle is seen in the above file photo. SPACEX/AFP via Getty Images
Former SpaceX staffers thought it was odd that someone so young was offered a high-profile position close to the boss, according to the report.
After she moved to Los Angeles from New York, the woman accepted an invitation from Musk for drinks.
Her friends told the Journal that Musk came on to her and touched her breast.
One of her friends said the woman recalled Musk telling her: “Oh, I’m so bad. I shouldn’t be doing this.”
“Elon tried to rekindle our relationship prior to my employment, and I rejected the advance. While there was some initial awkwardness, it was nothing out of the ordinary after a rejection,” the woman said in a sworn affidavit provided to the Journal by a law firm which also represents Musk and Tesla.
According to the Journal, the woman, who denied ever having a “romantic relationship” with Musk, said she was unhappy at SpaceX because she had no authority and that she also had trouble getting other executives to take her ideas seriously.
The situation got so bad that on several occasions she would hide in the bathroom on company grounds, the Journal reported.
In the affidavit provided to the Journal, the woman said that her feelings about the job at SpaceX “were completely unrelated to any romantic or personal interactions with Elon Musk.”
“I came into a very difficult role as a newcomer into an established company,” she said in the affidavit.
Gwynne Shotwell, president and COO of SpaceX, accused a subordinate of having an affair with her husband, according to the Journal. REUTERS
As she struggled to establish herself in the company, she would visit Musk at his home after the boss frequently texted her, according to a friend.
“Come by!” Musk would text her. When she didn’t respond, he would continue texting.
“Look, it’s either me or 6am [exercise] :)” he wrote on one occasion.
On another occasion, Musk texted: “Just finished the Model 3 production call. It’s def going to be hell for several more months.”
“Are you coming over? If not, I will probably tranq out. Too stressed to sleep naturally,” Musk wrote to her.
When Musk’s texts went unanswered, he wrote: “Probably best if we don’t see each other.”
The next morning, the woman texted back to him, writing: “Oh man. I’m sorry, I’d already fallen asleep. I’ve been a late night person most of my life but have been trying to switch over because it seems responsible. Tbh. Sorry I crashed last night.”
Later that same day, the girl confided in a friend that she had “mild [social] anxiety resulting from imposter syndrome” which “definitely makes this job harder.”
Musk has two children with Shivon Zilis, one of his employees at SpaceX and Neuralink. AP
“And that’s definitely exacerbated by Elon’s behavior,” her friend responded. The woman replied: “So badly.”
She said Musk displayed a lack of interest in her job, which made it more difficult, according to the Journal.
The awkwardness with Musk eventually led her to leave Musk’s executive staff. She was reassigned to another role in which she reported to another engineer, according to the Journal.
In 2019, when her manager was part of mass layoffs, she left the company.
In 2013, a woman who worked at SpaceX left the company and then reappeared with a lawyer.
She alleged that Musk had asked her on several occasions to have his babies, according to the Journal.
Musk, the father of 10 children including twins that he shared with another SpaceX employee, Shivon Zilis, has often spoke about the need to boost birth rates in order to save the human population.
Zilis agreed to Musk’s offer to give birth to his children, who were conceived via artificial insemination. @shivon/X
After the woman declined Musk’s offer to have his children, the relationship between the two deteriorated, according to the Journal.
Musk would often complain about her job performance. He also reportedly denied her a raise.
The woman eventually left the company with an exit package work more than $1 million in stock and cash, the Journal reported.
A year later, Musk began a sexual relationship with another woman who would often spend 17-hour days working alongside the boss.
Before the relationship with Musk, Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s presient and chief operating officer, accused her of having an affair with her husband. She denied the allegation.
The woman alleged that when she went to human resources with Shotwell’s allegation, Shotwell retaliated against her by trying to get her removed from her position.
People close to the woman told the Journal that while Shotwell was working to get her fired, Musk brought her closer to him.
In 2022, it was reported that Musk allegedly exposed himself to a SpaceX flight attendant. AP
The relationship began while Musk was in the middle of divorce talks with British actress Talulah Riley.
But it ended weeks later when she confided in friends that she felt used and that Musk had no desire to be seen in public with her.
She left the company and was forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement. In exchange, she was reportedly paid $85,000 for unpaid work that she did earlier for Tesla.
“The untruths, mischaracterizations, and revisionist history in your email paint a completely misleading narrative,” Shotwell told the Journal.
“I continue to be amazed by what this extraordinary group of people are achieving every day even amidst all the forces acting against us. And Elon is one of the best humans I know.”
In 2022, a SpaceX flight attendant accused Musk of exposing himself to her aboard one of his private jets in 2016.
The woman was later paid $250,000 to settle the claim.
News of the allegation and the subsequent settlement was first reported by Business Insider.
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