SpaceX employees draft open letter to company executives denouncing Elon Musk’s behavior

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An open letter to Musk has sparked discussion among the company's employees in an internal chat system. To encourage employees to sign onto the letter, a signed version of the letter will be delivered to the desk of the president.

Musk's actions and the recent allegations of sexual harassment against him are negatively affecting the reputation of the company. Employees across the spectrum of gender, ethnicity, seniority, and technical roles collaborated on the letter, according to the document. The employees who posted the letter in the internal chat system have not responded to questions.

Elon's behavior in the public sphere is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us. Every message that Elon sends is a public statement from the company. It's important to make clear to our teams and potential talent pool that his messaging doesn't reflect our work, our mission, or our values.

Musk has been doing a lot recently and his presence on the social networking site can be a little too much. He captioned an image of Bill Gates and an unborn baby with "in case you need to lose a boner fast." He responded to Blue Origin last year, saying that he couldn't get it up to the space station. Musk is trying to buy the social networking site.

The company is not living up to its oft-stated "No Asshole" policy and its zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy according to a letter shared in an internal Microsoft Teams channel. The document suggests three different actions to be taken to address the situation, one of which is to condemn the behavior of Musk on social media.

The number of signatures was not immediately available, but employees were asked to sign the letter by completing a survey or using a mobile device. The letter generated more than a hundred comments in the Teams channel, with many employees agreeing to the spirit of the missive, according to a pair of sources who spoke with The Verge. Some commenters said they were embarrassed by Musk. Some people wanted the company to address sexual harassment complaints.

Insider reported last month that Musk offered to buy a horse for a former flight attendant after she accused him of exposing himself to her and propositioning her during a massage. Musk told Insider there is more to the story.

He told the outlet that if he were to engage in sexual harassment, it would be the first time in his career that it came to light. Musk replied to Chad with a joke about the story. It's fine if you touch my wiener.

Shotwell sent a company-wide email to employees defending Musk. Shotwell said he believed the allegations to be false because he had never heard anything similar to them. I know anyone who knows Elon that he wouldn't conduct or condone this kind of behavior.

This isn't the first time that the topic of sexual harassment has come up In December, a former employee wrote an essay on Lioness detailing her experience with pervasive sexual harassment at the company. She was critical of the HR response to her complaints. The company's HR department mishandled harassment complaints according to four former employees. The company's "No Asshole" policy was reiterated in an email by Shotwell before the story was published.

Shotwell wrote in December that they can always do better. In order to ensure the process is effective, HR has been soliciting feedback from different groups. The internal audit will be followed by a third party audit.

The letter can be found below.

There is an open letter to the executives.

In light of recent allegations against our CEO and his public disparagement of the situation, we would like to give feedback on how these events affect our company's reputation. This letter has been written by employees across the spectrum of gender, ethnicity, seniority, and technical roles. To reach our company's primary goals, we need honest and open dialogue with each other.

We are expected to use failures as learning opportunities as we are expected to challenge established processes. Our identity is based on our commitment to these ideals. For all of our technical achievements, SpaceX fails to apply these principles to the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion with equal priority across the company, which results in a workplace culture that is firmly entrenched in the status quo.

In order to make the company a more inclusive space, individuals and groups of employees have spent a lot of time and effort. The company has not applied appropriate urgency and resources to the problem in a way that is in line with our approach to critical path technical projects. The recent events are indicative of a wider culture that does not serve many of the people who make up the core of the company. Industry leaders are responsible for addressing this.

In recent weeks, Elon's behavior in the public sphere has been a source of embarrassment. Every message that Elon sends is a public statement by the company. It is important for our teams and potential talent to know that his messaging doesn't reflect our work, mission or values.

Many employees continue to experience equal enforcement of our oft-repeated "No Asshole" and "Zero Tolerance" policies as the current systems and culture do not live up to its stated values. This can't stay the same. We want to discuss the specifics of the action items with the executive team within a month.

In public, address and condemn the harmful behavior of the person. It is necessary for the company to separate itself from its founder's brand.

Make SpaceX a great place to work for everyone by holding all leadership to the same standards. To apply a critical eye to issues that prevent employees from fully performing their jobs and meeting their potential, pursue specific and enduring actions that are well resourced, transparent, and treated with the same rigor and urgentness as establishing flight rationale after a hardware anomalies.

All forms of unacceptable behavior need to be defined and responded to. Define what the policies are about and make sure they are enforced consistently. Clear repercussions for all unacceptable behavior, whether from the CEO or an employee, must be upheld by the company.

We care about the goal of the company. We care about one another. The collaboration we need to make life multiplanetary isn't compatible with a culture that treats employees as resources. We have a unique position that requires us to think about how our actions will affect other people. We aim to bring the culture we are fostering to Mars and beyond.

There is more to be done in that direction.