Musk was reported to have had relationships with multiple former female employees, often using compensation money to "silence" them

Author: Li Jinrui, Chengdu Commercial Daily

On the 12th local time, eight fired SpaceX engineers (four men and four women) filed a lawsuit in court, claiming that SpaceX founder Elon Musk was involved in sexual harassment and discrimination against women, and retaliated against them by illegally firing them after they protested.

The lawsuit states that Musk's behavior has fostered a culture of gender discrimination within SpaceX, causing female employees to suffer from harassment and gender discrimination. However, SpaceX denies any illegal conduct and claims that Musk was not involved in the decision to terminate the employment of these eight engineers.

At the same time, a significant investigative report regarding Musk was released on the 11th, stating that Musk had maintained ambiguous relationships with several women within SpaceX. This report was compiled after interviewing over 40 individuals, including former SpaceX employees, people familiar with Musk's interactions with female subordinates, and friends and family of these women, as well as reviewing relevant documents and emails.

Notably, reports as early as 2021 indicated that multiple women claimed to have experienced sexual harassment while working at SpaceX, but the male employees involved did not face any punishment (related report by Red Star News: Multiple women claim to have experienced sexual harassment while working at SpaceX, and the male employees involved were not punished).

Musk has not yet responded to the investigative report. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell stated that the report does not reflect SpaceX's corporate culture and is misleading.

Accused of having relations with interns, arranged for someone to fly in to deliver a passport

The investigative report pointed out that in 2017, Musk personally contacted a female engineer who had previously interned at SpaceX, wanting her to take a position on his management team; this engineer is over twenty years younger than Musk.

In fact, the two had known each other before 2017, as the woman met Musk during her internship at SpaceX while she was in college. At that time, as an intern, she proposed ideas to Musk for improving SpaceX. She told friends that it was her initiative that led to their first date, which subsequently led to a relationship.

The report shows that a year after her internship, Musk invited the woman to meet him at a resort in Sicily, Italy, where he was attending a conference. However, she did not have her passport with her, as it was in another city. Musk then contacted her friend in that city to arrange for her to take an early flight to deliver her passport. Subsequently, she was able to fly first class to London and then take a private jet to Italy. Soon after, the two ended their romantic relationship.

After Musk personally extended a job offer in 2017, she accepted and moved from New York to Los Angeles to join SpaceX, becoming a member of Musk's management team. Former SpaceX employees stated that although she was a talented engineer, they found it strange that such a young person could hold such an important position, especially one so closely related to the boss (Musk). Friends of the woman claimed she told them that after arriving in California, Musk invited her for drinks and touched her breasts. Musk reportedly said to her at the time, "Oh, I'm so bad. I shouldn't have done that."

Text messages obtained during the investigation show that about six months into her job, the woman received an invitation from Musk to visit his home. Musk first sent two words: "Come over!" After not receiving a reply, he sent several more messages stating that he was "too stressed to sleep." Still not receiving a response, Musk sent another message saying, "Then we better not meet."

The next morning, the woman woke up to see these messages and replied that she had fallen asleep the night before. Later that day, she shared this conversation with another friend, stating that she suffered from mild social anxiety, which made the job more difficult, and that Musk undoubtedly exacerbated this condition. Her friend claimed that the woman told them her work was not going well and her relationship with Musk had become awkward. Ultimately, she left the management team and began reporting to another engineer. In 2019, she left SpaceX.

Through her legal team, the woman stated in a written statement that she did not have a romantic relationship with Musk during the period from 2017 to 2019, but acknowledged that she did have a romantic relationship with Musk during her internship.

Multiple former female employees involved, all settled with compensation

In addition to this female engineer, at least three other female SpaceX employees have been involved in "scandalous news" related to Musk. As early as 2022, media reports revealed that Musk had asked a flight attendant contracted by SpaceX to give him a massage during a flight in 2016 and offered to buy her a horse in exchange for sexual favors.

Insiders revealed that during the mediation process between SpaceX and the employee in 2018, the employee also claimed that Musk exposed himself to her. After rejecting Musk, SpaceX began to ostracize her. In November 2018, as part of a separation agreement, SpaceX paid her $250,000 in compensation. In exchange, she promised not to sue Musk.

A third former female employee claimed that Musk had repeatedly asked her to have his children, but she refused. Afterward, she continued to work under Musk. However, as their relationship deteriorated, the employee ultimately left in the summer of 2013. According to an insider, the woman received over $1 million in cash and stock as part of her severance package.

The fourth former female employee had a romantic relationship with Musk for nearly a month in 2014. She told those around her that she had become close to Musk due to work reasons. The two needed to communicate frequently about work, so their workstations were very close. To keep up with Musk's pace, she had to work over 17 hours a day. In addition to her work at SpaceX, she also had to handle Tesla's affairs and manage Musk's personal life.

One day in the fall of 2014, Musk suddenly invited her to his home for drinks. That evening, she brought her computer and briefcase to Musk's house. After drinking and chatting, the two had a sexual encounter. According to text messages shared by the woman with friends, Musk frequently dated her afterward. Musk had promised her in bed that he would give her Tesla stock as compensation for her extra work. However, the woman claimed that Musk ultimately refused to give her the stock and instead offered a direct compensation of $85,000.

To receive this compensation, the woman also signed an agreement promising not to discuss her work with Musk and to keep information about Musk "strictly confidential."