SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell defended Elon Musk amidst sexual allegations made this week, with Shotwell saying she “believes the allegations to be false,” as detailed in a report from CNBC.
The defense came in the form of an internal email to employees, in which Shotwell cited her experience working closely with Musk as her reasoning for not believing the allegations.
In the email, Shotwell said, “Personally, I believe the allegations to be false; not because I work for Elon, but because I have worked closely with him for 20 years and never seen nor heard anything resembling these allegations.”
After a Business Insider story reported that Musk allegedly sexually harassed a flight attendant in 2016, asking the attendant to “do more” during a massage, Musk responded, calling them “wild accusations” and later adding that they are “utterly untrue.” The source for the Insider story was from an unnamed third party
The story also said the flight attendant had been paid $250,000 severance after confronting the company about the issue.
The payments were not denied by Musk or SpaceX’s Vice President of Legal Christopher Cardaci following the Business Insider story.
Musk also went on to say that there is “a lot more to this story,” calling the move a “politically motivated hit piece.”
On Sunday, Musk said, “Astute observers of my plane (and there many) will note that I don’t use a flight attendant.” He added, “Moreover, only fruit & nuts are stocked on the plane. I use flights as an opportunity to fast.”
Astute observers of my plane (and there many) will note that I don’t use a flight attendant.
Moreover, only fruit & nuts are stocked on the plane. I use flights as an opportunity to fast.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 23, 2022
Musk also announced plans this week for Tesla to hire a “hardcore litigation department,” after the allegations surfaced.
