SpaceX reportedly fired employees behind open letter rebuking Elon Musk

SpaceX, the private rocket company, has fired employees who helped write and distribute an open letter criticising the behaviour of chief executive Elon Musk, said three employees with knowledge of the situation.

Some SpaceX employees began circulating the letter, which denounced Musk’s activity on Twitter, on Wednesday (US time). The letter called the billionaire’s public behaviour and tweeting “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment” and asked the company to rein him in. Musk is currently closing a $US44 billion ($63.5 billion) deal to buy Twitter.

By Thursday afternoon (US time), SpaceX had fired some of the letter’s organisers, according to the three employees and an email from Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer. In her email, which was obtained by The New York Times, she said the company had investigated and “terminated a number of employees involved” with the letter.

“The letter, solicitations and general process made employees feel uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied, and/or angry because the letter pressured them to sign onto something that did not reflect their views,” Shotwell wrote. “We have too much critical work to accomplish and no need for this kind of overreaching activism.”

It was unclear how many employees were fired. James Gleeson, a SpaceX spokesman, did not immediately return a request for comment.

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The open letter followed recently publicised accusations of sexual misconduct against Musk amid his contentious acquisition of Twitter. On Thursday (US time), Musk addressed Twitter employees for the first time since his takeover offer via a video call to answer their questions.

In May, Insider reported that a flight attendant said Musk propositioned her for a sexual massage during a flight to London in 2016. The flight attendant said he also exposed himself to her and offered her a horse, according to the article, the details of which were not independently verified by The Times.

Musk called the accusations “utterly untrue” and joked about horses and his genitalia on Twitter. Last month, Shotwell said in an email to SpaceX employees that she “personally” believed the sexual harassment allegations against Musk were false.