Free Speech Champion Elon Musk Fires Employees for Criticizing Him

The New York Times is reporting that Musk has fired at least several employees at his company who were involved in circulating an open letter critical of him.

Despite his attempts to portray himself as the ultimate champion of free speech, Musk has a long history of retaliating against those who criticize him.

According to the NYT, Gwynne Shotwell sent an email to the company arguing that "letter, solicitations and general process made employees feel uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied, and/ or angry because the letter pressured them to sign onto something that did not reflect their views."

She said that there was no need for this kind of activism.

In spite of the company's CEO constantly sounding off, personal self expression by employees is not considered to be appropriate work behavior.

The firings look like blatant hypocrisy. Musk has free speech but his employees are terminated for criticism.

At least five employees have been fired, but it's not clear how many.

It's not the first time Musk has fired people who didn't want to be represented by him or accused him of failing to reign in rampant sexism, racism, and sexual harassment.

Musk lashed out at critics of the car company's efforts to deploy driving assistance technologies on public roads.

The SpaceX letter called Musk out for his bizarre behavior, which had become a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for the company.

"As our CEO and most prominent spokesman, Elon is seen as the face of the company and every statement he makes is a public statement," it said.

Musk had to fight off an accusation of making sexual advances towards a flight attendant and pay for her silence because of his right-leaning political views.

Kosak wrote a letter in December accusing Musk's space company of not doing enough to stop sexual harassment of her.

Musk has tried to paint himself as a "free speech absolutist" when it comes to his bid to buy the social networking site.

The double standard that should be given to the billionaire's true intentions is painted by his actions.

The New York Times reported that employees of the company were involved in a letter dispute.

There is more on the saga.