SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell unequivocally defended Elon Musk against sexual misconduct allegations with an email to employees last week that leaves no room for misinterpretation.
“Personally, I believe the allegations to be false; not because I work for Elon, but because I have worked closely with him for 20 years and never seen nor heard anything resembling these allegations,” Shotwell wrote, according to CNBC. She continued to lend her personal testimony of her interactions with Musk. “Anyone who knows Elon like I do, knows he would never conduct or condone this alleged inappropriate behavior,” Shotwell said, according to The Verge.
“Personally, I believe the allegations to be false; not because I work for Elon, but because I have worked closely with him for 20 years and never seen nor heard anything resembling these allegations.” https://t.co/KELR0Y2Fc7
— Economic Times (@EconomicTimes) May 24, 2022
Musk is being accused of inappropriate conduct toward a flight attendant in 2016, Insider reported. He came forward to deny what he called “wild accusations,” and took things a step further by challenging his accuser with a series of tweets posted May 19.
“But I have a challenge to this liar who claims their friend saw me ‘exposed’ – describe just one thing, anything at all (scars, tattoos, …) that isn’t known by the public. She won’t be able to do so, because it never happened,” Musk tweeted. (RELATED: REPORT: Deshaun Watson Meets With The NFL Over Sexual Misconduct Allegations)
And, for the record, those wild accusations are utterly untrue
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2022
Musk now has the support of the second-highest representative at SpaceX, and Shotwell is also ranked as the company’s top female executive, according to CNBC. Shotwell’s email went on to note the serious nature of the allegations, and the company’s dedication to all its employees. Her email indicated SpaceX has a “ZERO tolerance” policy for harassment and assured her staff that every accusation is always addressed, “regardless of who is involved.”
Shotwell made it clear she “will never comment on any legal matters involving employment issues,” the outlet continued.
The flight attendant also accused SpaceX of paying her $250,000 in exchange for her silence.