In yet another legal conundrum, Elon Musk and his company SpaceX are facing a lawsuit from eight former employees who allege they were illegally fired for raising concerns about gender discrimination and sexual harassment at the company. The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in California state court, claims the firings followed the employees’ involvement in drafting and distributing a letter criticizing Musk’s behavior and urging changes to SpaceX’s workplace culture.
The lawsuit paints a picture of a toxic work environment at SpaceX, accusing Musk of fostering a culture where women are treated as sexual objects and subjected to lewd comments and jokes. The complaint references Musk’s posts on Twitter, now called X, including one where he joked about creating a university named “TITS” where “Ds [women’s bra size] would get degrees,” and another making light of sexual harassment allegations against him.
Among the plaintiffs is Tom Moline, who previously filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board over his termination, which he claims was directly ordered by Musk. Moline and his co-plaintiffs argue that SpaceX management retaliated against them for their attempts to address and report misconduct, which they believe is encouraged by Musk’s own behavior.
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Earlier, another former employee, Michelle Dopak, sued the firm, alleging that she was coerced into a long-term sexual relationship by a male supervisor who later offered her $100,000 to have an abortion when she became pregnant. Dopak claims that SpaceX colluded with her supervisor to transfer shares out of his name to avoid paying child support.
She also alleges that after reporting the affair and returning from medical leave, she was subjected to unreasonable work demands intended to force her resignation.
The lawsuit comes amidst a broader pattern of complaints against SpaceX. Earlier this year, the NLRB accused SpaceX of unlawfully firing engineers who criticized Musk’s conduct. SpaceX responded by filing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the NLRB’s structure, aiming to halt the proceedings.
SpaceX has yet to comment on the latest lawsuit, and the company’s president, Gwynne Shotwell, has previously defended Musk, stating in an email to employees that Musk “would never conduct or condone this alleged inappropriate behavior.”
The former employees seek unspecified monetary damages for lost wages, earnings, and other benefits, along with compensation for emotional distress. They also demand that SpaceX be prohibited from continuing what they describe as unfair and unlawful business practices.
This follows a lawsuit against Musk accusing him of having insider knowledge of a production and delivery miss that Tesla was facing when he sold more than $7.5 billion in stock in 2022.
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