Fired SpaceX Workers Sue Elon Musk for Sexual Harassment and Retaliation

Eight former SpaceX engineers filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk on Wednesday, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation.

Musk, who founded SpaceX in 2002, “knowingly and purposefully created a hostile and undesirable work environment based on his conduct of posting vile sexual photographs, memes and comments that demeaned women and/or the LGBTQ+ community into the workplace.” , say employees. complaint, which was previously reported by Bloomberg.

The complaint – which cites many of Musk’s Twitter posts making sexually explicit jokes – claims that Musk fostered “a perversely sexist culture at SpaceX.” Several of the plaintiffs say they “experienced direct harassment that mimicked Musk’s posts.” According to the lawsuit, senior engineers often used phallic language during technical meetings, referring to mechanical parts as “chodes” and “schlongs.”

“It was also common for engineers to apply crude and demeaning names to products in an attempt at humor, often at the expense of women and LGBTQ+ individuals. For example, the name ‘Upskirt Camera’ was used for a camera on the first stage of the Falcon rocket that views the underside of the second stage.” The complaint also cites a video “starring SpaceX senior management, including Vice President of Human Resources (HR) Brian Bjelde, President and CEO Gwynne Shotwell, and Elon Musk, that mocks and makes light of sexual misconduct and pranks ”.

The former employees, who are also pursuing a National Labor Relations Board complaint against SpaceX, collaborated on an open letter in 2022 that raised concerns about Musk’s behavior and the broader company culture at SpaceX. The employees were later fired – and the lawsuit alleges that the order to fire them came from Musk himself. Per BloombergAfter a human resources official suggested that SpaceX conduct an investigation, Musk responded, “I don’t care, fire them.”

After the letter was published, Shotwell emailed two of the letter writers, telling them to “stop flooding employees [sic] communication channels immediately,” the complaint states. Shotwell later sent a company-wide email “with the subject line ‘Please Stay Focused on the SpaceX Mission’ in which she called the Open Letter ‘overactivism’ and stated that ‘[w]We conducted an investigation and fired several employees involved,’” according to the lawsuit.

The complaint targets Musk and SpaceX. “Musk thinks he is above the law. Our eight brave clients stood up to him and were fired for it. We look forward to holding Musk accountable for his actions at trial,” Laurie Burgess, an attorney representing the former engineers, said in a statement. declaration.

The process arises following a Wall Street Journal report that Musk had sexual relationships with two SpaceX employees, including a former intern he later hired onto his executive team. A third woman who spoke to the Daily said Musk repeatedly asked her to have children and complained about her work performance after she said no. The woman said she was also denied a raise.

Shotwell accused one of the women of having an affair with her husband, according to the Daily. After the woman reported this to HR, Shotwell allegedly “told SpaceX’s HR department that he wanted the woman removed as chief executive,” the Dailysays the article. In a statement to the DailyShotwell said the report paints “a completely misleading narrative” of SpaceX company culture.

Some former SpaceX employees disagree. In 2021, after a former SpaceX employee published an essay detailing several instances in which she was groped by her male colleagues, five former female employees alleged that there was a culture of sexual harassment at the company. Employees said HR handled complaints poorly. In 2022, Business Insider reported that a flight attendant on Musk’s private jet claimed he exposed himself to her.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to On the edgerequest for comment.