Former employee says she was paid off after the incident.
QUICK FACTS:
- A SpaceX flight attendant says the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, asked her to take inappropriate actions during a massage, according to documents cited by Business Insider.
- The same documents claim that the billionaire exposed himself to her, touched her without her consent, and offered to buy her a “horse” if she complied with his request.
- Musk later reportedly paid $250,000 in 2018 to settle the sexual misconduct claim from 2016, as part of the attendant’s severance agreement.
- The former SpaceX employee’s claim is corroborated by the alleged victim’s friend who has signed an affidavit backing the attendant’s claim.
MUSK’S OFFICE SAYS THERE IS ‘MORE TO THE STORY’:
- Business Insider contacted the Tesla CEO to ask for a response to the accusation, and he emailed a response requesting more time to offer a statement, saying that there was “a lot more to the story.”
- “If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light,” he wrote, calling the story a “politically motivated hit piece.”
- SpaceX vice president of legal Christopher Cardaci said, “I’m not going to comment on any settlement agreements.”
BACKGROUND:
- Musk is currently in the process of purchasing Twitter, a move that has caused him to become increasingly unpopular with many, particularly those who are politically left-leaning.
- Musk said of his acquisition that he plans to have much less censorship if he is able to purchase the platform, saying, “free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy.”
