Lawsuit accuses Elon Musk of sexual harassment at SpaceX

Elon Musk is being sued by eight former SpaceX engineers who claim that Musk personally ordered their dismissals after they raised concerns about sexual harassment at the company in an open letter.

The eight employees – four men and four women – were all fired in June 2022 after publishing a letter saying the CEO’s “public behavior is often a source of distraction and embarrassment for us.” The letter came less than a month after it was announced that Musk had settled a misconduct allegation by a former SpaceX flight attendant.

The letter also called on SpaceX executives to condemn Musk’s behavior and argued that the company should “quickly and explicitly distance itself from Elon’s personal brand.”

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs accuse Musk of “treating women like sexual objects judged by their bra size, bombarding the workplace with offensive sexual comments, and offering those who resist the ‘Animal House’ environment the opportunity to seek other employment if they don’t like it.”

The lawsuit, filed in a California court, also details several scenarios, including sexually explicit comments in the workplace and an instance in which a male colleague invited a female employee to a sex party. The employee says that although she reported the incident to human resources, no action was taken and her colleague was promoted shortly afterward.

On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal published a report alleging that Musk had sexual relationships with at least two female SpaceX employees, one of whom was a former intern he eventually hired as part of his leadership team.

A third woman who quit SpaceX said Musk asked her several times to carry his children. When she refused, she said she was denied a raise and her performance was poorly evaluated.

The eight employees are also the subject of a lawsuit before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), claiming that their firings violated U.S. labor laws. SpaceX is suing the NLRB, arguing that its procedures violate the U.S. Constitution.