Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk-led SpaceX’s workplace is rife with sexism, a former employee has alleged.
What Happened: Ashley Kosak, a former engineer at SpaceX, published an essay, detailing her experiences, and said the space company’s human resources team doesn't protect victims of harassment or abuse.
Kosak in her essay called out the work culture at SpaceX and said it is “in a state of disrepair and dysfunction,” and she had no option but to finally leave the company.
The statement alleges SpaceX is environmentally irresponsible and takes a shot at Musk as “the man who brought you TITS U,” referring to Musk’s tweet on setting up a new university called "Texas Institute of Technology & Science."
"Elon Musk’s behavior bears a remarkable similarity to the behavior of a sadistic and abusive man who had previously been part of my life," the former SpaceX engineer said. "Elon makes promises he doesn’t hold himself accountable to, shifts the goalpost constantly, unnecessarily strips resources from people who are working themselves to the brink of burnout, and then sends threatening messages to remind them that their efforts will never be adequate."
Kosak joined SpaceX as an intern in 2017 and was later promoted to mission integration engineer.
See Also: Blue Origin Employees Say Jeff Bezos Company Has Toxic Culture, Safety Issues
She drew instances of repeated sexual advances and harassment at SpaceX and the continuous lack of action from the human resources department.
“I was told that matters of this nature were too private to openly discuss with the perpetrators. Instead, they said mandated company training programs would be held,” Kosak wrote in the post.
Kosak further alleged that some of SpaceX’s buildings “run on gas generators,” saying that “funding is not being dedicated to reducing carbon emissions.”
Why It Matters: SpaceX has about 10,000 employees. In a recent interview with Time magazine, which named Musk Person Of The Year 2021, the billionaire entrepreneur said SpaceX’s Starship development facility in Texas is “like a technology monastery” and that the company’s workforce is male-dominated.
Billionaire Musk dreams of colonizing Mars and founded SpaceX with the mission to make humanity multi-planetary.
Price Action: Tesla shares closed 0.82% higher at $958.51 a share on Tuesday.
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