Elon Musk sued for alleged sexual harassment at SpaceX

Elon Musk has made headlines once again, this time over a sexual harassment complaint filed by former employees of his private rocket company SpaceX.

NBC News reports that eight employees are suing the Tesla founder, accusing him of personally firing him after he was accused of allegedly tolerating sexual harassment in the workplace. The eight employees say their dismissals took place in 2022 after circulating an open letter in which they accused Elon Musk of engaging in “behavior in the public sphere (that) is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment.”

The lawsuit further alleges that Musk “runs his company in the Dark Ages – treating women as sex objects to be judged by their bra size, bombarding the workplace with lewd sexual jokes, and offering recovery to those who challenge the environment of the “Animal House”. that if they don't like it, they can look for a job elsewhere.

The employees cited at least 20 posts Musk made on X, formerly known as Twitter, that referenced male genitalia and almost openly encouraged sexually inappropriate workplace behavior among rank-and-file employees.

“Musk thinks he is above the law. Our eight courageous clients stood up to him and were fired for it,” Laurie Burgess, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “We look forward to holding Musk accountable for his actions at trial.”

In an article published by the Wall Street Journal outlining accusations from numerous former employees, SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell defended Musk and the company, saying SpaceX thoroughly investigated all complaints of harassment and took the necessary measures. She told the WSJ that “Elon is one of the best humans I know” and that his reporting paints “a completely misleading narrative.”

The eight layoffs were already in the eyes of the federal government after the fired employees filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, which accused Musk of violating federal law. In response, SpaceX filed a lawsuit against the National Labor Relations Board, claiming its efforts were unconstitutional. The trial and investigation are still ongoing.

News of the lawsuit against Elon Musk comes just a day after the controversial billionaire filed a motion to drop his lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman, which he filed after claiming ChatGPT abandoned its original altruistic goal in favor of maintaining some of its most advanced private AI technology. In addition to requiring a jury trial, the lawsuit asked Altman and company president Greg Brockman to reimburse them for any profits they may have earned.