SpaceX paid $250,000 to settle sexual harassment allegations against Elon Musk: Report 

SpaceX reportedly paid $250,000 to a flight attendant who had accused Elon Musk of sexual harassment in 2018. The attendant was part of SpaceX's corporate jet fleet. 

According to a report by Business Insider, the attendant accused Musk of exposing his private parts, and rubbing her leg without consent. He apparently offered to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage, the report added.  

Musk has responded to the claims and called them “utterly untrue”. A Musk follower questioned the timing of the expose, and asked why they are emerging right after he took an anti-establishment stance – Musk had said a day earlier that he will not support the Democrats anymore because they are the party of division and hate, and will support the Republicans.  

“And, for the record, those wild accusations are utterly untrue,” he replied to the follower, further adding in another tweet, “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 further said, “The attacks against me should be viewed through a political lens – this is their standard (despicable) playbook – but nothing will deter me from fighting for a good future and your right to free speech.” 

These comments come after the Business Insider report stated that the attendant confided to a friend that after she took the flight attendant job, she was encouraged to get licensed as a masseuse so that she could give massages to Musk. It was during one such massage at a private cabin that Musk exposed himself. The friend told the new site that “he touched her thigh and told her he would buy her a horse”. Musk also bribed her to perform some sort of sexual favour, the friend stated.  

The friend said that the “attendant is not for sale” and is not going to “perform sexual favors for money or gifts". 

The attendant was very upset following the incident, the friend told the news site. She started to feel like she was punished for refusing, the friend added. 

After being convinced that her refusal had diminished her opportunities at SpaceX, the attendant hired a lawyer and sent a complaint to the company’s human resource. A mediator was brought in and her complaint was swiftly resolved. The matter never reached the court because SpaceX and the attendant entered into an agreement granting $250,000 to the attendant in exchange for a promise to not sue over the claims.  

The friend told the news site that she came forward without consulting the attendant as she felt that she was obligated as a sexual assault survivor to share what had happened with her friend. She is not bound by a non-disclosure agreement, unlike the attendant.  

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