Hundreds of SpaceX employees signed letter denouncing Elon Musk’s behavior

Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

It took less than a day and a half for more than 400 SpaceX employees to sign onto an open letter against their boss, after it was posted and shared by some of their co-workers. Around the same time that a group of employees were fired for their involvement in crafting and sharing the letter, the internal landing page for the document was taken offline.

The open letter went live on an internal landing page at noon Eastern, and then it was shared by a few employees to chat rooms in Microsoft Teams as well as an email list. Employees said that Musk's behavior in recent weeks had become a source of embarrassment and a distraction for the company. The letter writers suggested ways that the company could distance itself from Musk, as well as ways to hold executives accountable for sexual harassment.

A large number of employees across a bunch of demographic and roles and levels helped write the letter, according to an employee who helped craft the letter but wishes to remain anonymous. Employees were able to sign onto the document by taking a survey or using a mobile device.

The teams channel with the largest number of members was mostly filled with engineers. The writers had a plan to distribute a stack of physical copies of the letter, as well as a set of QR codes for people to use. One of the people involved said that no one was brave enough to give out those before the firings started. There were fears that the letter would be seen as union organizing and that cameras in the building would reveal who distributed it. The writers were able to see that they had 3000 unique visitors to their site before the landing page was shut down.

Many more people reached out to those who shared the letter on Signal, in person, and through Teams, saying they would sign if they could afford to get fired. An employee of Musk's company was fired for distributing pamphlets that encouraged employees to unionize. In May of this year, Musk said that the company would be setting up a hardcore litigation department.

At least five employees of the company were fired for their involvement with the letter. After seeing the document, Shotwell sent out an email to the company notifying them of the terminated workers.

The current leadership team is more dedicated to ensuring we have a great and ever-improving work environment than any I have seen in my 35-year career. She said that the letter, not Musk's behavior, was the source of distraction for the company.

In time for publication, the company didn't reply to a request for comment.

Shotwell argued in her email that other employees who weren't involved in the letter felt pressured to sign onto the document. Two people involved with writing it disagree with that claim. They posted the letter to the teams channels and asked for help.

One of the employees who helped craft the letter said there was no pressure to collect signatures. Either the open letter stands on it's own or it doesn't.

The news of the employees being fired has spread throughout the company, and a few current employees have expressed their displeasure at the actions of the company.

One person who was not involved in the letter tells The Verge that they will have to keep their mouths shut if they don't agree with him. We find ourselves in a position where we are both proud and ashamed to work for a company that does not approve of his behavior.