The Dark Side of SpaceX: Employees Reveal Elon Musk’s Horrible Working Conditions and Harassment
Eight dismissed SpaceX engineers have filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. The U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has filed a case against the company.
“Musk knowingly and intentionally created an unwanted hostile work environment based on his behavior of inserting disgusting sexual photos, memes, and comments that demeaned women and/or the LGBTQ+ community into the workplace,” the lawsuit says.
The plaintiffs allege that some of them were then subjected to offensive comments from other coworkers who “mimicked Musk’s Twitter posts” and “created an extremely uncomfortable hostile work environment.” After Musk publicly mocked the misconduct allegations against him, employees in an open letter in 2022 expressed concerns about his behavior and company culture, and claimed they were fired in retaliation. The plaintiffs have reason to believe that Musk personally decided to fire them in response to such activity. When the HR officer suggested conducting an investigation first, Musk replied: “I don’t care – fire them,” the complaint says.
This lawsuit against Musk is not the first among the complaints filed by the same employees with the US National Labor Relations Board, which stated that SpaceX had unlawfully retaliated against them. NLRB prosecutors agreed, but in January, SpaceX filed a lawsuit claiming that the agency’s structure was unconstitutional. The Court of Appeal’s injunction suspended the proceedings in the labor council.
In addition, the Wall Street Journal reported on allegations that Musk sexually harassed women at SpaceX, including a former intern with whom he allegedly had sex. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell accused the publication of presenting “untruths, mischaracterizations and revisionist history,” saying that “Elon is one of the best people I know.”
The NLRB does not have the authority to hold individuals accountable, but the new state court lawsuit names Musk personally as a defendant, citing “maniacal control over personnel decisions in his business” and his public comments, such as a Twitter joke about the misconduct allegation, “if you touch my vine, you can get a horse.” Musk denies his guilt.
The lawsuit also alleges that SpaceX executives, including Musk and Shotwell, participated in a video “that mocks and highlights sexual harassment and jokes,” including a scene in which an employee demonstrates the “proper” way to spank a coworker.
The fired employees had previously filed some of their claims with the California Department of Civil Rights. According to the complaint, the agency issued them “right to sue” letters this week to clear the way for a lawsuit.
“We need to look for any avenues we can to continue to advance our claims. Even Elon, with all his wealth and power, is not above being held accountable, right?” said plaintiff Tom Moline in an interview.
