SpaceX employees fired after criticizing Musk in open letter

SpaceX has fired workers who helped write an open letter that was critical of Elon Musk on Twitter and other public forums. Gwynne Shotwell, the company's president said in an email to employees on Thursday that the letter “made employees feel uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied” and that they felt pressured into signing a document that did not reflect their views.

She added that the workers who had helped coordinate the letter had been terminated but did not specify how many. In the latter, Musk's behavior was said to be “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment.” These statements come as Musk is caught in negotiations to acquire Twitter. In addition to this, a Business Insider report had alleged he had sexually harassed a flight attendant aboard a corporate jet. Elon Musk said this allegation was a “politically motivated hit piece” meant to disrupt his $44 billion bid for Twitter.

Meanwhile, Musk and his companies were also served with a lawsuit for allegedly defrauding investors as part of a scheme to promote the cryptocurrency dogecoin. This complaint argues that Musk was part of a “pump and dump” racket that involved him hyping up dogecoin to attract more investors after which he rapidly sold off his assets as their value peaked, tanking the rest of the currency’s value.

Source: The Washington Post