The wealthiest man in the world Elon Musk paid a SpaceX flight attendant $250,000 to settle a sexual misconduct claim against him for exposing himself to her and propositioning her for sex.
SpaceX, the rocket company founded by billionaire Musk, paid the female attendant a quarter million dollars in a severance settlement, according to claims in a declaration.
The attendant was a cabin crew member who was contracted to work for SpaceX’s corporate jet fleet. She said Musk exposed her penis to her and offered to buy her a horse if she performed an erotic massage, according to the documents.
The incident occurred in 2016 and the settlement in 2018. According to a declaration prepared in support of the claim, the attendant said that after she took the job at SpaceX, she was encouraged to get training to become a masseuse in order to massage Musk. During one of these massages, Musk propositioned her.
The attendant was instructed to go to Musk’s cabin during the flight for a “full body massage,” and found him “completely naked except for a sheet covering the lower half of his body.” During the massage, he “exposed his genitals,” and “touched her, and offered to buy her a horse if she would ‘do more,’ referring to the performance of sex acts.” She declined and continued with the massage without any sexual activity.
After the incident, the attendant reportedly felt she was being marginalized in her job, and being pushed out and punished for refusing Musk.
Musk denied the allegations on Twitter and claimed it was an attack that needed to be “viewed through a political lens,” and inferred it was because he is fighting for “a good future and your right to free speech.”
Experts in sexual harassment and workplace harassment said this is a classic deference method by people in powerful positions to not be held accountable for their actions.
Women at Musk’s companies continue to come forward about inappropriate behavior, including at Tesla and at SpaceX. Experts say a culture of inappropriate behavior appears to continue at Musk’s companies. Last year alone, Tesla had eight lawsuits against it for sexual harassment.
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