It is well known that the working atmosphere in the companies of US billionaire Elon Musk is not the best and that the way he treats his employees – well, there is room for improvement. But now the allegations, if they turn out to be true, will take on a new dimension. Eight former employees of the space company Space-X have filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk for sexual harassment and unlawful retaliation, according to the news agency Bloomberg The Space-X boss intentionally created a hostile work environment by spreading “abhorrent sexual photos, memes and comments in the workplace.” In doing so, Musk degraded women and members of the LGBTQ+ community, the ex-employees said in their lawsuit, which they filed in a California court on Wednesday.
Not only did their own colleagues discriminate against them with hostile comments after the first allegations, Musk even made fun of such allegations. The plaintiffs then wrote an open letter about the company culture in 2022. When the human resources department wanted to initiate an investigation into the events, Musk responded with the words “I don’t care – fire them,” according to the lawsuit. According to Bloomberg, Space-X had already denied wrongdoing before the lawsuit. The reason for the dismissals of the employees was much more due to violations of company policies. There has been no comment from the company on the new allegations.
According to Bloomberg, before filing their lawsuit, the employees had filed a case against Space-X with the US Labor Inspectorate. The case alleged retaliation against them. Musk had in fact fired them because of their criticism of the company culture. Following an injunction from the company, the case is currently not being pursued any further.
In addition to the allegations, there is now a second incident about which the Wall Street Journal reported. According to the report, there are allegations that Musk sexually harassed Space-X employees, including an intern. The newspaper provides affidavits from one of the women. Space-X President Gwynne Shotwell accused the newspaper of spreading untruths, but said that she would thoroughly investigate all complaints of harassment. Allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation at Space-X have already been made in previous court cases, according to Bloomberg.