Rocket maker SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk were sued Wednesday by eight engineers who claim they were wrongfully fired for raising concerns about alleged sexual harassment and discrimination against women.
The engineers — four women and four men — allege that Musk ordered their firing in 2022 after they circulated a letter calling the billionaire “an embarrassment and a disgrace” and asking executives to disavow sexually-charged comments they had made on social media. The lawsuit was filed in state court in Los Angeles.
The plaintiffs cited a series of Musk’s tweets, some of which referenced his penis, including one in 2022 in which he told the former YouTube CEO, “If you touch my penis, you can own a horse.”
The lawsuit alleges that Musk’s actions contributed to a “pervasive culture of sexism” at SpaceX, where female engineers were routinely subjected to harassment and sexist remarks and their concerns about the workplace culture were ignored. For example, the lawsuit says senior engineers used euphemisms for sexual acts and male genitalia to describe rocket components.
“These conducts had the foreseeable and actual consequence of upsetting Plaintiffs, distressing them and violating their well-being to the extent that they disrupted their emotional peace at work,” the plaintiffs said in the lawsuit.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SpaceX has denied any wrongdoing and said the 2022 letter was confusing and that the employees were properly fired for violating company policy. The company also denied that Musk had any involvement in the decision to fire the engineers.
One of the plaintiffs, Paige Holland Thielen, said in a statement filed through her lawyer that Wednesday’s lawsuit is an attempt to hold SpaceX management accountable and urge changes to workplace policies.
“We hope this lawsuit will inspire our colleagues to continue fighting for a better workplace,” she said.
The eight engineers are already the subject of a lawsuit from the National Labor Relations Board, claiming that their firings violated their right to seek improved working conditions under U.S. labor law.
SpaceX sued, alleging that the labor board’s internal enforcement procedures violate the Constitution. A U.S. appeals court last month stayed the NLRB’s case to consider a SpaceX motion to block the NLRB’s action pending the outcome of that lawsuit.
Wednesday’s lawsuit accuses SpaceX and Musk of retaliation and wrongful termination in violation of California law, and also accuses the company of sexual harassment and sex discrimination.
The plaintiffs seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, as well as an injunction enjoining SpaceX from continuing its unlawful conduct.
