Former employees of Elon Musk’s SpaceX have alleged discrimination against women, joking about sexual harassment, and wrongful termination.
They filed civil rights complaints in California, claiming violations of state laws and federal labor regulations.
The company is facing legal battles at both state and national levels.
The employees hope their complaints will shed light on the company’s culture and bring about change.
Paige Holland-Thielen said, “Bringing things to light is the first step to actually make it better.”
“I was left out of so many meetings that I was supposed to be in; I was left out of so many decisions that were my decision to make,” she continued.
“I was forgotten on projects; I was forgotten in planning,” she explained.
Allegations include gender-based discrimination, exclusion from work-related activities, and inappropriate behavior by colleagues and Musk.
Tom Moline, an engineer that was fired, said, “It was very common for people to quote things that Elon had previously said, when it comes to engineering practices or jokes he had made,” said one of the fired engineers, in an interview. “Basically anything that would make a freshman frat initiate laugh was fair game in large parts of the company.”
The workers’ frustrations with SpaceX became public in 2022. That year, Business Insider published an article detailing separate claims that Musk had sexually harassed a SpaceX flight attendant by touching her, exposing himself without her consent and offering her a horse in exchange for a massage.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said, “Anyone who knows Elon like I do, knows he would never conduct or condone this alleged inappropriate behavior.”
Moline claimed, “They told me that my employment was being terminated because they had determined that I was responsible for conceiving, writing, and distributing the open letter.”
The company has denied wrongdoing and is involved in legal disputes with the ex-employees.
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