He Said, She Said: Elon Musk and SpaceX Hit with Harassment Lawsuit by Former Employees

Former employees of SpaceX have filed a lawsuit against CEO Elon Musk in a California court, alleging gender discrimination and workplace harassment.

According to Reuters and Bloomberg on the 12th, the four women and four men who filed the lawsuit claimed that they experienced gender discrimination and harassment within the company, which they attribute to Musk’s behavior.

The plaintiffs allege that Musk fostered a culture of gender discrimination within the company by posting sexually suggestive pictures and vulgar comments on Twitter, and have filed a lawsuit in a California court seeking damages from Musk and SpaceX.

They also added that fellow employees mimicked Musk’s posts, making inappropriate comments, which created an uncomfortable and hostile work environment. They specifically pointed out that senior engineers used expressions referring to sexual acts and male genitalia when explaining rocket parts.

The plaintiffs claim they were retaliated against and fired in 2022 after sending a letter to SpaceX management criticizing Musk’s behavior. At the time, they requested control over sexually explicit content Musk had been posting on Twitter since 2020, arguing it violated company policy.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) accepted their claims and referred SpaceX for trial, but SpaceX sued the NLRM, arguing that their process violated constitutional rights. The federal appeals court decided to halt the NLRB’s trial process until the result of SpaceX’s lawsuit is determined.

According to the lawsuit documents, SpaceX’s HR suggested investigating the plaintiffs’ claims, but Musk allegedly ignored this and ordered their termination. However, SpaceX has stated that Musk was not involved in the decision to fire them.