A former SpaceX employee said Elon Musk exposed himself to her and propositioned her for sex in 2016.
SpaceX paid the woman a $250,000 settlement, which included a non-disclosure agreement, in 2018, Business Insider reported Thursday. The woman was working as a flight attendant for SpaceX at the time.
Musk, 50, denied the claims in the Insider report.
“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 told the outlet, saying there was “a lot more to this story.”
The woman’s friend spoke to Insider after filing a declaration in support of the woman. She was not bound by the NDA.
“He whipped out his penis, it was erect,” the friend told Insider about the incident.
She said Musk often received massages on his private flights and that her friend got a massage license so she could work with Musk more often, Insider reported. The woman massaged Musk on several flights prior to the incident, the friend said.
On one flight to London, the woman was giving Musk a massage when he disrobed and exposed himself, the friend told Insider. Musk offered to buy the woman, an avid horse rider, a horse in exchange for sexual favors, the friend said.
The woman turned Musk down and eventually left the room, the friend told Insider. She confided in the friend shortly afterward.
According to the friend’s account, the woman was essentially demoted at work after turning Musk down, Insider reported. She got a lawyer in 2018 and filed an HR complaint at SpaceX.
After the complaint, SpaceX offered the woman $250,000 in exchange for not suing and agreeing to the NDA, according to Insider. The woman did not speak to Insider for the story.
Insider said Musk asked for more time to respond to questions. Despite holding the story for several days, the outlet said Musk did not provide more details.
Wednesday, Musk tweeted, “Political attacks on me will escalate dramatically in coming months.”
The eccentric multibillionaire agreed to buy Twitter for about $44 billion earlier this year.
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