An article by the American media Business Insider claims that a flight attendant employed by SpaceX was paid $250,000 by the company in 2018 in exchange for her silence following sexual advances by the boss of the aerospace company, the billionaire Elon Musk. .
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The acts of sexual harassment allegedly took place in 2016 aboard an aircraft from the SpaceX business jet fleet bound for London.
Elon Musk would have removed his pants during a massage performed on board by the hostess.
The CEO of SpaceX would then have exposed his penis, rubbed his leg against the employee and would have offered
to "do more
", offering to "
buy a horse
" in exchange for an erotic massage, reports Business Insider.
The hostess would then have refused and continued the massage, without carrying out a sexual act.
A friend of the declared victim testifies
Business Insider indicates that it has established these facts on the basis of documents, including email exchanges, and the testimony of a friend of the flight attendant, informed of the events by the latter.
The declared victim did not wish to speak directly to Business Insider.
The media indicates that it still knows his identity, as well as that of his friend, who preferred to testify anonymously.
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According to information from Business Insider, the alleged victim sent a complaint to the company's human resources department in 2018. The complaint was resolved after a session with a mediator which Elon Musk personally attended, the site continues. information.
In November 2018, SpaceX and the flight attendant reached an agreement: in exchange for $250,000, she agreed not to sue.
She also reportedly signed what were described to Business Insider as "
restrictive non-disclosure and non-disparagement covenants
," prohibiting her from revealing information about Elon Musk, his business, or reporting on the incident. existence of the payment of 250,000 dollars.
Elon Musk reacts on Twitter
On Twitter, Elon Musk denied the accusations of sexual harassment.
“
These savage accusations are totally false
,” he wrote in a tweet on Friday.
Wanting to prove that he never undressed in front of the air hostess, he invited the friend of his accuser who testified against him to “
describe only one thing
[about his body]
, anything ( scars, tattoos...) which is not known to the public
".
"
She won't be able to do it, because it never happened
," said the billionaire.
The SpaceX and Tesla boss further called the Business Insider
article "a flashy piece with a political motivation
."
Earlier, contacted by Business Insider, Elon Musk said that there is "a
lot more to this story
".
“
If I was inclined to engage in sexual harassment, it is unlikely that this will be the first time in my entire thirty-year career that it has come to light
,” he told the media.
This is the first time Elon Musk has faced sexual harassment charges.
The SpaceX company told the American media that it did not want to comment on the agreement signed with the flight attendant.
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The American multi-billionaire also accused the Business Insider media of wanting to interfere in its takeover of the social network Twitter, which was started in April and suspended in May.
“
It was clear that their only goal was to get a good price to interfere with the acquisition of Twitter
,” Elon Musk wrote on Twitter.
