- SpaceX execs are being accused of discriminating against women and joking about sexual harassment.
- Seven former employees detailed the complaints in filings reviewed by Bloomberg.
- The workers were fired in 2022 after circulating a draft of a letter critical of Elon Musk.
Former SpaceX employees are accusing executives at the company of discrimination against women, according to California civil rights complaints viewed by Bloomberg.
Seven former employees say SpaceX execs joked about sexual harassment and fired workers for raising concerns, Bloomberg reported.
One former employee said she received a performance review accusing her of being “too emotional” and suggesting she “should be more humble” after she raised concerns about one of her male coworkers taking credit for her work, according to a filing reviewed by the news outlet.
Representatives for SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.
Per Bloomberg, these California workers were fired in 2022 after they circulated a draft of an open letter critical of CEO Elon Musk. The letter stated that Musk’s behavior in public was “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment,” according to a New York Times report.
It also contained an allegation that the company wasn’t complying with its zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment. Although the draft letter didn’t specify the exact allegations, it mentioned “recent allegations against our CEO and his public disparagement of the situation,” per The Verge.
Musk has faced accusations of sexual misconduct before. Business Insider reported in May 2022 that SpaceX paid a former flight attendant $250,000 in 2018 after she accused Musk of sexually harassing her.
Musk has denied the claims, claiming the story was false, and has made light of the report on Twitter.
SpaceX has also come under the microscope in recent years.
In December 2021, a former SpaceX engineer published an essay claiming the company is “rife with sexism.” The former employee, Ashley Kosak, said she faced sexual harassment while employed by SpaceX, which officials failed to adequately address.
