Elon Musk may be the richest man in the world, but he’s going to be spending some serious money on legal bills given the new lawsuit that was launched against him.
In a legal filing dated Wednesday, June 12, former SpaceX employees have accused Musk of fostering a workplace environment that objectified women based on their physical appearance.
It specifically claims the company would evaluate women on their bra size, at the direction of the billionaire.
The lawsuit also includes allegations of discrimination, wrongful termination, whistleblower retaliation, and unlawful business practices against both SpaceX and Musk.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Is Being Accused Of Sexism
The plaintiffs in the case include Paige Holland-Thielen, Yaman Abdulhak, Scott Beck, Rebekah Clark, Deborah Lawrence, Claire Mallon, Tom Moline, and André Nadeau.
They say that after they raised concerns about the toxic work environment in an open letter to the company’s management, they were subsequently terminated from their positions at SpaceX. The staff argue their belief that Elon personally made the decision to let them go after voicing their concerns.
Additionally, Musk is accused of “knowingly and purposefully” cultivating a “hostile work environment” through his behavior, which allegedly included sharing “vile sexual photographs, memes and commentary that demeaned women and or the LGBTQ+ community” in the workplace, court documents reveal.
The lawsuit highlights several of Musk’s contentious tweets as examples of his inappropriate behavior. Among these are his notorious “Pronouns suck” tweet and a tweet that featured a photo comparing Bill Gates to the pregnant man emoji, captioned, “In case u need to lose a boner fast.”
The plaintiffs argue that Elon’s tweets had a direct impact on SpaceX’s company culture, and further reinforced its sexism, including the routine use of crude and demeaning product names by engineers. One such example includes the term “Upskirt Camera,” used to describe a camera on the first stage of the Falcon rocket that views the bottom of the second stage.
Musk Has Faced Creepy Allegations Before
Musk, who also owns Tesla and X (formerly Twitter), has faced multiple accusations of sexually inappropriate behavior over the years. In 2018, a former employee claimed that Musk created a hostile work environment at Tesla, where she alleged inappropriate conduct.
In 2022, a former SpaceX flight attendant accused Musk of exposing himself and propositioning her for sex during a massage, which Musk denied, calling the allegations “utterly untrue.”
Moreover, in 2022, the public was shocked to learn Musk fathered twins with Shivon Zilis, an executive at his company Neuralink, which raised eyebrows due to the power dynamics involved. The news sparked controversy as it highlighted potential ethical concerns regarding workplace relationships, especially given Musk’s role as her superior.
Public reaction was mixed, with some criticizing the implications of such a relationship within a professional setting, while others focused on Musk’s growing number of children and his personal life (he welcomed a second child with his on-and-off girlfriend Grimes around the same time; they welcomed a third child before breaking-up last year).
Elon has not formally commented on the new allegations.