Elon Musk sued for alleged sexual harassment and retaliation by former SpaceX engineers

Eight former SpaceX engineers filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk on Wednesday, accusing the CEO of sexual harassment and retaliation. The same group of fired employees also filed complaints with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regarding SpaceX's alleged retaliation. Bloomberg reported on the trial for the first time.

“Musk knowingly and deliberately created a hostile and undesirable work environment through his conduct in introducing vile sexual photographs, memes and comments into the workplace that demeaned women and/or the LGBTQ+ community,” they said. the eight former employees wrote in Wednesday's filing.

Former SpaceX engineers said some of them were harassed by other colleagues who “imitated Musk's messages,” in an alleged example of collective bullying under the influence of their superior's behavior. The plaintiffs wrote that it “created an extremely uncomfortable hostile work environment.”

The group worked together on an open letter in 2022 highlighting the Tesla founder's allegedly problematic behavior. They say they were fired in retaliation for the trial.

According to Bloomberg, the filing states that the former SpaceX engineers have reason to believe that Musk made the decision to fire them in retaliation for their letter. The complaint claims that when a SpaceX human resources manager suggested the company conduct a formal investigation before taking decisive action, Musk responded, “I don't care, fire them.”

The engineers' case with the NLRB was delayed by an appeals court injunction, although the board acknowledged that SpaceX illegally retaliated against them. SpaceX sued the agency in January, calling its structure “unconstitutional.”

The lawsuit follows a report released Tuesday detailing allegations that Musk had sex with two female employees and asked a third to have his babies.