An open letter to SpaceX Executives has been released denouncing its CEO Elon Musk's recent behavior, which has prompted the company's employees to have an internal chat system.
Elon Musk pauses and looks down as he speaks during a press conference at SpaceX's Starbase facility near Boca Chica Village in South Texas on February 10, 2022. - Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk delivered an eagerly-awaited update on SpaceX's Starship, a prototype rocket the company is developing for crewed interplanetary exploration.
As reported first by The Verge, the employees were asked to openly or anonymously sign onto the letter, with a signed version of it to be given to SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell's desk.
What Was The Letter All About?
The letter, obtained by The Verge, explains how Musk's behavior and recent sexual harassment allegations against him are harming SpaceX's brand.
Employees of all genders, ethnicities, seniorities, and technical roles are said to have cooperated on the letter, according to the document. The identity of the individuals who wrote the letter is unknown.
"Elon's behavior in the public sphere is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, particularly in recent weeks. As our CEO and most prominent spokesperson, Elon is seen as the face of SpaceX-every Tweet that Elon sends is a de facto public statement by the company," the employees wrote.
Workers said that it is vital to communicate to their teams and potential talent pools that Musk messaging does not represent their work, mission, or values.
The billionaire has been making rounds lately, especially with his presence on Twitter. Last April, Musk posted an image of Bill Gates with a pregnant man emoji, writing in the caption, "in case u need to lose a boner fast."
Musk also responded to a tweet about Jeff Bezos' aerospace company Blue Origin last year by writing, "Can't get it up (to orbit) lol."
The letter, which was posted on Wednesday, June 15, in an internal SpaceX Microsoft Teams channel with over 2,600 employees, claims that SpaceX is not following its well-publicized zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy and "No Asshole" policy.
"Not Isolated Incidents"
The writers of the document are urging the company to publicly condemn Musk's "harmful Twitter behavior" and "consistently" enforce SpaceX's zero-tolerance and no-asshole policies.
"To be clear: recent events are not isolated incidents; they are emblematic of a wider culture that underserves many of the people who enable SpaceX's extraordinary accomplishments," the group added.
The letter comes almost a month after Insider reported that SpaceX paid a flight attendant $250,000 as a settlement for a sexual misconduct allegation against the billionaire in 2018.
However, Musk has denied the allegations.
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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
