TECH NEWS – SpaceX has reportedly paid Elon Musk $250,000 to cover up allegations of sexual misconduct after he was accused of showing his genitals to a female SpaceX flight attendant. Musk said the story was “politically motivated”.

Business Insider’s article today claims that the company paid a contracted female flight attendant at SpaceX $250,000 to keep quiet after reports that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had exposed his penis and propositioned her during an on-board massage.

Allegedly, the flight attendant herself is also under a confidentiality agreement. The story and related documents were leaked to Business Insider by a friend of the flight attendant, who did not sign the confidentiality agreement. The friend told the publication that she “felt a responsibility to come forward” about the abuse of power.

Musk told Business Insider that there was “much more to this story” and called it a “politically motivated murder”. He also indirectly denied the allegation, noting that it is the first sexual misconduct allegation made against him in his 30-year career (the first public allegation of which we are aware), and implied that something would have come out earlier if this was behaviour he was prone to. According to Business Insider, he did not respond to a request for further comment.

The alleged incident occurred in 2016 on a SpaceX corporate jet bound for London. The flight attendant was a contract flight attendant who, according to his friend, was encouraged to become a licensed masseuse after getting the job, and did so. At Musk’s request, she was giving Musk a massage in his room when, according to the girlfriend, he “took out his penis”, touched the flight attendant’s thigh and “offered to buy her a horse if she ‘did more’, referring to performing sexual acts”.

The boyfriend’s statement goes on to say that after she refused the offer, the flight attendant cancelled her shifts. The flight attendant then hired an attorney and filed a complaint with SpaceX’s human resources department, which was reportedly resolved through mediation instead of court. The flight attendant agreed to a $250,000 severance package on the condition that he not sue and signed a confidentiality agreement, according to his friend.

SpaceX Vice President of Legal Christopher Cardaci told Business Insider he would not comment on “any settlement agreement”. PC Gamer asked SpaceX if it could say more about the report, which can be read in full on Business Insider.

We’ve been covering a lot of Musk-related news lately, as he’s amid his acquisition of Twitter, where much of the gaming industry news and fan chatter takes place. As the founder and CEO of SpaceX, he’s also relevant to our general interest in space and space-related games, such as Starfield, which drew inspiration from the company.

Source: Business Insider