Elon Musk Alleged Sexual Misconduct Led to Large Payout by SpaceX

According to Insider, SpaceX founder Elon Musk was reportedly accused of sexual misconduct back in 2018, leading to a payout by the company of $250,000. The report by the outlet details how Musk allegedly exposed himself to a company flight attendant, touched her without consent, and offered a horse in exchange for providing an erotic massage.

The incident outlined by Insider reportedly occurred in 2016, alleged in a declaration and other documents shared with the outlet. The alleged victim confided in a friend, who also helped to put together the declaration, sharing details of the massage incident. The outlet reached out to Musk, telling Insider there was “a lot more to this story” and that the piece was a “politically motivated hit piece.”

The attacks against me should be viewed through a political lens – this is their standard (despicable) playbook – but nothing will deter me from fighting for a good future and your right to free speech

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2022

“If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light,” Musk told the outlet. They included that Musk never responded after the initial email, even after they extended the deadline on their story.

According to the report, Musk allegedly asked the flight attendant aboard the SpaceX corporate flight on Musk’s Gulfstream G650ER to give him a “full body massage.” The outlet adds that massages are a big perk for executives and employees at the company, with in-house massage therapists being employed. When the unnamed flight attendant reportedly went to the private cabin, Musk was “completely naked” outside of the customary sheet, leading to the billionaire allegedly exposing himself and offering to buy her a horse if she’d “do more,” meaning sexual acts.

“He whipped out his penis, it was erect,” the flight attendant’s friend detailed to Insider about the allegations. “And he started propositioning her, like he touched her thigh and told her he would buy her a horse. And he basically tried to bribe her to perform some sort of sexual favor.”

After the alleged moment, the employee started to feel anxiety over her job and thought she was being punished for refusing the proposition. “She figured things could just go back to normal and she would pretend like nothing happened,” Insider shares. “However, she started to feel as if she was receiving some sort of retaliation where her shifts were cut back, and she was starting to feel really stressed.”

In 2018, the attendant finally acted on that belief and hired an employment lawyer in California before sending an official complaint to the company. The lawyer also sparked the creation of the declaration these details were compiled. Insider notes the complaint was solved quickly, out of court or arbitration, and during a session with a mediator that Musk attended.

The agreement included a non-disclosure agreement and non-disparagement clause, which one assumes lends to the friend doing the crux of the talking on the issue. “I absolutely felt a responsibility to come forward with it, especially now,” the friend explained to Insider. “He is the richest man in the world. Someone with that level of power causing that kind of harm and then throwing some money at the situation, that’s not accountability. There are predators all over the world. But when someone is particularly wealthy and powerful, they literally have systems that are like a machine working for them, to set them up to be able to do whatever they want.”

The details shared in the declaration, and more information are available in Insider’s piece. Musk’s initial denial and his comments on Twitter reveal that the billionaire feels the entire story is politically motivated. It will be interesting to see if it plays out to be more or if the story becomes a footnote.