Musk, SpaceX Facing Sexual Harassment Suit

Facts

• SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday was sued in California state court by eight former employees over sexual harassment charges that were previously detailed in a 2022 open letter shared with management via the company's intranet.¹
• The plaintiffs alleged four of them were fired the day after the letter was shared, and the others were terminated after SpaceX's internal investigation. They're seeking unspecified monetary damages.¹
• The suit accuses Musk of running his company in the 'dark ages' and said he allowed an 'Animal House environment.' The plaintiffs also say Musk 'personally ordered' their dismissals.²
• Previously, SpaceX had said the employees were properly fired for violating company policies. Still, the eight engineers are also part of a US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) case focused on whether their firings violated labor law.³
• This suit comes in the same week a Wall Street Journal report described alleged sexual relationships Musk had with a then-intern at SpaceX and with other employees at the company.⁴
• Unlike the NLRB complaint and lawsuit filed in January, Wednesday's suit seeks to hold Musk personally liable.⁵

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²CNN, ³USA Today, ⁴New York Post and ⁵NBC.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Bloomberg. Musk is one of the most powerful men in the world, and clearly, he's decided to wield this power to take advantage of women who work for him. Sadly, his behavior has trickled down to his male employees — even at his other companies — as detailed by numerous targets of harassment who've told their stories. As more allegations come to light, it's becoming obvious Musk has to be reined in.
• Narrative B, as provided by The National Pulse. It looks like Elon Musk is the latest victim of the 'Me Too' movement, and the timing is of no surprise. Musk has put a big target on his back since making X a free speech platform, and he's only received more heat since denouncing the political prosecution of Donald Trump. The validity of the allegations remains hazy, but the timing is certainly suspicious.

Predictions