Elon Musk, the high-profile CEO of SpaceX, is facing a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former employees. This intensifies the ongoing legal conflict between the parties.
What Happened: Bloomberg reports that eight former engineers from SpaceX have filed a lawsuit against Musk. They accuse him of fostering a hostile work environment by disseminating inappropriate sexual content that belittled women and the LGBTQ+ community.
The plaintiffs argue that they were subjected to similar offensive comments from colleagues, which created an uncomfortable workplace.
The lawsuit states that these engineers had previously written an open letter in 2022, voicing their concerns about Musk’s behavior and the company’s culture. They allege that they were terminated in retaliation for this action.
Musk purportedly insisted on their dismissal despite calls for an investigation, Bloomberg reports.
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This lawsuit follows previous complaints by the same employees to the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging unlawful retaliation by SpaceX. Although the NLRB sided with the employees, SpaceX filed a lawsuit in January, challenging the constitutionality of the agency’s structure.
The lawsuit also implicates SpaceX executives, including Musk and President Gwynne Shotwell, in a video that allegedly trivializes sexual misconduct, according to Bloomberg. The former employees had previously taken some of their grievances to California’s Civil Rights Department, which recently issued them “right to sue” letters, thereby enabling the lawsuit.
Bloomberg reports that neither SpaceX nor Musk have commented on the lawsuit. SpaceX has previously refuted any wrongdoing and asserted that the dismissed employees violated company policies.
Why It Matters: This lawsuit adds to the growing scrutiny of Musk’s alleged inappropriate relationships with female colleagues at SpaceX. These allegations have raised concerns about a culture of sexism and harassment at the company.
One woman, a former intern at SpaceX who reportedly had a romantic relationship with Musk, left the company in 2019. These incidents have cast a shadow over SpaceX’s work culture and Musk’s leadership.
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