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Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends the start of the production at Tesla's "Gigafactory" in Gruenheide, southeast of Berlin on March 22, 2022. Patrick Pleul, Pool/AFP

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Elon Musk

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/171824039637020220322-musk-elon-gigafactory-tesla-AFP-1.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><span contenteditable="true" id="isPasted" style="text-align:left"><span style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends the start of the production at Tesla&#x27;s &quot;Gigafactory&quot; in Gruenheide, southeast of Berlin on March 22, 2022. <em>Patrick Pleul, Pool/AFP</em></span><em> </em></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Workers fired by SpaceX filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing Elon Musk of fostering a sexist &quot;Dark Ages&quot; culture at the company he founded.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The civil complaint filed in a California court in Los Angeles contends Musk had the workers terminated after they published an open letter detailing their concerns and calling on the American aerospace firm&#x27;s board to distance itself from the SpaceX chief executive.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;Elon Musk trumpets SpaceX as the leader to a brave new world of space travel,&quot; the court filing says.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;But (he) runs his company in the Dark Ages -- treating women as sexual objects to be evaluated on their bra size, bombarding the workplace with lewd sexual banter, and offering the reprise to those who challenge the &#x27;Animal House&#x27; environment that if they don&#x27;t like it they can seek employment elsewhere.&quot;</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/6/1/japanese-billionaire-cancels-lunar-spacex-voyage-1830">Japanese billionaire cancels lunar SpaceX voyage</a></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The suit charges Musk and SpaceX with sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;Musk thinks he&#x27;s above the law,&quot; plaintiffs&#x27; attorney Laurie Burgess said in a statement. &quot;We look forward to holding Musk accountable for his actions at trial.&quot;</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The fired workers have already filed a complaint with the US National Labor Relations Board, but that has been stalled by a lawsuit by Musk trying to derail it.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;Filing this suit marks an important milestone in our quest for justice, for holding leadership accountable, and for implementing responsible changes in workplace policies for our colleagues at SpaceX who continue to toil in a hostile work environment,&quot; plaintiff Paige Holland-Thielen said in the statement.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;We hope that this lawsuit encourages our colleagues to stay strong and to keep fighting for a better workplace.&quot;</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/5/26/china-wary-of-spacex-s-starlink-service-during-taiwan-contingency-939">China wary of SpaceX&#x27;s Starlink service during Taiwan contingency</a></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">SpaceX in 2022 fired each of the eight former workers represented by the suit, the filing said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">According to the lawsuit and complaints to regulators, SpaceX nurtured a hostile work environment where jokes about sexual harassment were commonplace, women were paid less than men and workers who complained were dismissed.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;Musk knowingly and purposefully created an unwelcome hostile work environment based upon his conduct of interjecting into the workplace vile sexual photographs, memes, and commentary that demeaned women and/or the LGBTQ+ community,&quot; plaintiffs&#x27; attorneys said in the statement.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">In their complaints, the engineers describe a sexist corporate culture, where sexual comments and other forms of harassment were tolerated or made light of.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">They also contended that Musk&#x27;s often inappropriate online humor was being emulated internally, setting the tone at the workplace.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Tesla, Musk&#x27;s other flagship company, has been the subject of similar accusations of racism and sexual harassment at its California site.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/6/12/elon-musk-drops-lawsuit-against-openai-and-sam-altman-858">Elon Musk drops lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman</a><br/><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/6/11/musk-warns-of-apple-ban-at-his-firms-if-openai-is-integrated-into-operating-system-1203">Musk warns of Apple ban at his firms if OpenAI is integrated into operating system</a></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></span></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>Workers fired by SpaceX filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing Elon Musk of fostering a sexist "Dark Ages" culture at the company he founded.</p>

Workers fired by SpaceX filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing Elon Musk of fostering a sexist "Dark Ages" culture at the company he founded.

Fired SpaceX workers sue Elon Musk over workplace abuses

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Fired SpaceX workers sue Elon Musk over workplace abuses

Agence France-Presse

Published Jun 13, 2024 09:17 AM PHT

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Elon Musk

SpaceX

lawsuit

sexual harassment

discrimination

retaliation

wrongful termination

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