The allegations published by the “Insider”: in 2016 he sexually assaulted a face assistant from his aerospace company. The richest man in the world replies: a “politically motivated” story
Elon Musk is accused of having harassed a SpaceX flight attendant, the aerospace company he founded that would later pay for the woman’s silence. According to what he reveals Insiderin 2018 the company reportedly paid $ 250,000 to the hostess to avoid a harassment complaint against the richest man in the world, currently engaged in the acquisition of Twitter, a battle – he defined it – to protect free speech and democracy. The flight attendant, who worked as a cabin crew member for the fleet of SpaceX corporate jetsaccused Musk of showing her his erect penis, of touching her leg without her consent, and offering her a horse as a gift in exchange for an erotic massage.
–
The incident – which occurred in 2016 during a flight to London – is reported in a statement signed by a friend of the flight attendant and prepared in support of the complaint presented to the company and closed with a confidentiality agreement that bound the victim but not the friend. From here, and from the correspondence between the two women, Insider drew the details of the story. The assistant would have confided to her friend that she, after accepting the job as a flight attendant, would be her encouraged to get licensed as a masseuse so that Musk can massage and work more often. During one of these massages in a private cabin on Musk’s Gulfstream G650ER, she told her friend, Musk made her the proposal: he found Musk completely naked, with a sheet covering his lower parts, then exposed his genitals and offered her a horse in sex change.
–
The woman, who rides a horse, refused the offer and continued the massage. “It’s not for sale,” her friend explained in her statement. “He doesn’t do sexual favors for money or gifts.” The flight attendant told her friend’s experience – which she asked her to Insider to remain anonymous – during an excursion that took place shortly after the episode: “She was very angry and did not know what to do,” he explained, arguing that after Musk’s advances, even the work had begun to fail. “Before the accident, he admired Musk a lot,” she said. “After that she became full of anxiety. She hoped that everything could go back to how it was before by pretending nothing happened, but she felt as if she were being punished: her shifts were cut and she was very stressed ».
–
The flight attendant thus hired an employment lawyer e filed a complaint with human resources reporting the incident: the company quickly reached an agreement during a meeting attended by Musk himself, without ever going to a judge, including a confidentiality agreement and a “non-denigration” clause which prevents the woman – but not her friend – from discussing the affair, the accused or his companies. “Now I felt the responsibility to reveal this story,” said the flight attendant’s friend, explaining that staying silent makes part of the system protected by these confidentiality agreements complicit.
–
A few months after the “accident,” California – where SpaceX is located – outlawed confidentiality agreements for cases of sexual harassment, discrimination or assault, unless requested by the victim. Asked by Insider, Musk took his time, arguing that “there is a lot more to this story” and calling it “politically motivated”, an article made on purpose to impress him. “If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, it is unlikely that in thirty years of career this will be the first to emerge,” he wrote in the message sent to the magazine. Invited to give further explanations, however, Musk never repliedwhile SpaceX – which focuses heavily on messages as a benefit for business executives – and Twitter declined to comment on the news.
–
May 20, 2022 (change May 20, 2022 | 10:36 am)
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED
–
—
