Elon Musk allegedly exposed himself to a SpaceX flight attendant in 2016, during a full body massage, a new report claims. SpaceX allegedly paid the flight attendant $250,000 to settle a sexual misconduct claim lodged against Musk in response to the incident.
SpaceX, the private spacecraft engineering company founded by Elon Musk, allegedly paid a flight attendant $250,000 in 2018 to settle a sexual misconduct claim lodged against Musk, relating to an alleged incident on a SpaceX flight in 2016.
The flight attendant worked for SpaceX’s corporate jet fleet. According to Insider, who say they gleaned their information from interviews, emails and documents (and a declaration, which they claim to have seen), she “accused Musk of exposing his erect penis to her, rubbing her leg without consent, and offering to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage.”
This is alleged in a declaration signed by the attendant’s friend, Insider reports. The publication also noted that, according to the declaration, “the attendant confided to the friend that after taking the flight attendant job, she was encouraged to get licensed as a masseuse so that she could give Musk massages.”
“It was during one such massage in a private cabin on Musk’s Gulfstream G650ER, she told the friend, that Musk propositioned her.”
Insider
Insider reports that, according to the declaration, during a flight to London, Musk “exposed his genitals” and then “offered to buy her a horse if she would ‘do more,’ referring to the performance of sex acts.”
The attendant, who is a horse rider, reportedly declined the offer and continued the massage like normal, without anything erotic (massages are a service offered on SpaceX flights, as a perk for executives). The flight attendant reportedly then found that she started being given fewer shifts.
Per Insider: the flight attendant’s friend declared: “She figured things could just go back to normal and she would pretend like nothing happened. 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.”
Eventually, the flight attendant felt “she was being pushed out and punished for refusing to prostitute herself.” Two years later in 2018, her lawyer came to an agreement with SpaceX, where she received $250,000 as a settlement (and reportedly signed an NDA).
Musk told Insider: there is “a lot more to this story” and asked for more time to respond (but then did not meet Insider’s new deadline which they gave him, the publication wrote).
“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,” he told Insider. He also called the story a “politically motivated hit piece.”
SpaceX vice president of legal Christopher Cardaci told Insider, “I’m not going to comment on any settlement agreements.”
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