Eight former SpaceX employees are suing the company and CEO Elon Musk, claiming they were wrongfully fired after complaining about the workplace culture.
The former employees filed the lawsuit in California court.
A letter to management in 2022 detailed complaints of rampant sexual harassment and an “Animal House”-like hostile work environment, according to the Associated Press.
The day after writing the letter, four employees were fired, and others were fired following an internal investigation, the company claims.
The letter called on executives to condemn Musk’s online behavior on X, a social media platform that he owns, then known as Twitter.
They claim Musk is downplaying the sexual harassment allegations against him because he is “considered the face of SpaceX.”
The employees are seeking an unspecified amount of monetary damages, according to the Associated Press.
The lawsuit also claims that the tech billionaire “hopes to be a leader in the brave new world of space travel, but is running his company in the dark ages.” CNN reported.
In their complaints, former employees said the workplace was rife with lewd sexual behaviour, including women being treated as sex objects whose bra sizes were judged, and they were told, according to the report, that “if they didn’t like it, they could just find work elsewhere”.
The eight employees who wrote the letter, which has garnered at least 400 signatures, called on SpaceX management to take their concerns about Musk and his online persona seriously.
The company also received a similar complaint from the National Labor Relations Board over the firing of employees in January.
The Hill has reached out to SpaceX for comment.
