Tesla CEO, Elon Musk is being accused of sexual harassing a SpaceX flight attendant, oyogist reports.
The attendant worked as a member of the cabin crew on a contract basis for SpaceX’s corporate jet fleet.
She accused Musk of exposing his erect penis to her, rubbing her leg without consent, and offering to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage, according to interviews and documents obtained by Insider.
Further reports reverse that SpaceX, the aerospace firm founded by Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, paid the flight attendant $250,000 to settle a sexual misconduct claim against Musk in 2018.
The incident, which took place in 2016, is alleged in a declaration signed by a friend of the attendant and prepared in support of her claim.
The details in this story are drawn from the declaration as well as other documents, including email correspondence and other records shared with Insider by the friend.
According to the declaration, the attendant confided to the friend that after taking the flight attendant job, she was encouraged to get licensed as a masseuse so that she could give Musk massages.
It was during one such massage in a private cabin on Musk’s Gulfstream G650ER, she told the friend, that Musk propositioned her.
After Insider contacted Musk for comment, he emailed to ask for more time to respond and said there is “a lot more to this story.”
“If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light,” he wrote, calling the story a “politically motivated hit piece.”
Insider extended the deadline and reiterated the offer to Musk to comment on the claims. He did not respond.
Reached via cell phone, SpaceX vice president of legal Christopher Cardaci said, “I’m not going to comment on any settlement agreements.”
SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment to its general media contact email address.
The flight attendant told her friend that the billionaire SpaceX and Tesla founder asked her to come to his room during a flight in late 2016 “for a full body massage,” the declaration says.
When she arrived, the attendant found that Musk “was completely naked except for a sheet covering the lower half of his body.”
During the massage, the declaration says, Musk “exposed his genitals” and then “touched her and offered to buy her a horse if she would ‘do more,’ referring to the performance of sex acts.”
The attendant, who rides horses, declined and continued with the massage without engaging in any sexual conduct.
The attendant “is not for sale,” the friend’s declaration said.
“She is not going to perform sexual favors for money or gifts.”
The incident occurred during a flight to London.In an interview with Insider, the friend described the attendant’s allegations in more detail.
Insider is also aware of the flight attendant’s identity, but is not naming her because she has claimed to be a victim of sexual misconduct. She declined to comment for this story.
According to the friend, the flight attendant was encouraged by her superiors to purchase her own professional massage training for her sessions with Musk.
Around that time, the attorney’s firm contacted the friend and asked her to prepare the declaration corroborating the claims.
The attendant’s complaint was resolved quickly after a session with a mediator that Musk personally attended. The matter never reached a court of law or an arbitration proceeding.
