Elon Musk joked about spanking SpaceX coworkers, evaluated 'women's bra size'

Elon Musk treats women as “sexual objects to be evaluated on their bra size” at SpaceX, eight former employees of the company alleged as they filed a lawsuit against their wrongful termination for speaking out against a hostile work environment in 2022. The employees said that they had written an open letter to SpaceX management about their concerns after which Elon Musk personally ordered their terminations.

Elon Musk creates ‘Animal House’ environment at SpaceX

Elon Musk “bombards the workplace with lewd sexual banter, and offers the reprise to those who challenge the 'Animal House' environment that if they don't like it they can seek employment elsewhere”, the complaint alleged. The billionaire also appeared along with some executives in a video that made fun of sexual misconduct. This was shown at an employee holiday party as per the lawsuit and in one scene VP of human resources Brian Bjelde was seen “having an employee demonstrate how to spank him in the 'correct' manner.”

Read more: Twitter layoffs: Elon Musk asked employees to justify roles, rate colleagues and prepare for ‘high intensity’ work

The employees said, “Filing this suit marks an important milestone in our quest for justice, for holding leadership accountable, and for implementing responsible changes in workplace policies.”

What reports claimed on Elon Musk's behaviour at SpaceX 

This comes as the Wall Street Journal published a report alleging that Elon Musk had inappropriate interactions with female SpaceX employees. These included a sexual relationship with a former intern and an instance when he asked a woman employee who worked at the company to have his babies.

Read more: Elon Musk had sex with a SpaceX employee, asked a woman to have his babies: Report

In 2022, a flight attendant on Elon Musk's private jet alleged that in 2016, he had "exposed himself" to her and offered to "buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage". Earlier, another employee from Elon Musk's company filed a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse and discrimination. Separately, SpaceX is also being investigated by a civil rights agency over allegations for discriminating against women.

Allegations of drug use against Elon Musk

Earlier, it was reported that Elon Musk used drugs including LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, mushrooms and ketamine, at times with some board members.

What has SpaceX said so far on the allegations?

Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer, said, “The untruths, mischaracterizations, and revisionist history in your email paint a completely misleading narrative. I continue to be amazed by what this extraordinary group of people are achieving every day even amidst all the forces acting against us. And Elon is one of the best humans I know.”