SpaceX fires employees who wrote letter slamming Musk’s “embarrassing” behavior

According to reports, at least five employees have been fired for circulating a letter urging company executives to condemn Musk's behavior.

The New York Times reported that Shotwell sent an email to staff explaining the firings. Shotwell wrote that the letter, solicitations and general process made employees feel uncomfortable, intimidated and angry because the letter pressured them to sign onto something that didn't reflect their views. We have too much important work to be doing overreaching activism.

"Blanketing thousands of people across the company with repeated unsolicited emails and asking them to sign letters and fill out unsponsored surveys is not acceptable," Shotwell's email said. Shotwell told employees to use their time to do their best work. This is how we will get to the red planet.

At least five employees were fired, according to a report.

Letter cited allegation against Musk

The internal letter was written by employees inside the company. The letter said that the company needed to separate itself from its founder's personal brand.

Business Insider reported last month that the company paid a flight attendant $250,000 to drop a sexual harassment claim against Musk. Shotwell defended Musk in a company email.

According to CNBC, Shotwell wrote to staff that he believed the allegations to be false because he had not heard anything similar to them.

Musk’s behavior called a “source of embarrassment”

"Elon's behavior in the public sphere is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, particularly in recent weeks," the employee letter stated. The letter accused the company of not applying its policies equally to executives and employees, writing that "SpaceX must establish safe avenues for reporting and uphold clear repercussions for all unacceptable behavior, even from the CEO or an employee starting their first day."

Employees across the spectrum of gender, ethnicity, seniority, and technical roles collaborated to create the letter. The executives were requested to meet with the employees in person.

Our unique position requires us to think about how our actions will affect other people. Is the culture we are fostering the one we want to bring to Mars and beyond?