Elon Musk denies groping & exposing himself to SpaceX flight attendant

The sexual harassment allegations were brought to light after they were published in an article by Business Insider.

Syahindah Ishak | May 22, 2022, 09:57 AM

Elon Musk took to Twitter to deny accusations of sexual harassment.

In a tweet on May 20, Musk said that the "wild accusations are utterly untrue".

He also called the person who made the accusations a 'liar" and claimed that the alleged incident "never happened".

The allegations were first published in an article by Business Insider.

The article stated that SpaceX, the aerospace company founded by Musk, had paid an ex-flight attendant USD250,000 (S$344,897) to settle the sexual misconduct claims outside of court.

Purportedly groped the woman and exposed himself

The alleged sexual misconduct occurred in 2016, according to Business Insider.

At the time, the woman was a member of the cabin crew for SpaceX's corporate jet fleet.

She alleged that Musk had exposed his erect penis to her.

Musk had also purportedly rubbed her leg without consent and offered to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage.

Business Insider got their source from the alleged victim's friend

Business Insider reported that it had received information regarding these sexual allegations from an anonymous friend of the alleged victim, who had provided a signed declaration.

"The details in this story are drawn from the declaration as well as other documents, including email correspondence and other records shared with Insider by the friend," Business Insider wrote.

"We stand by our story": Business Insider

The publication had also reached out to Musk for a comment.

Musk said that there is "a lot more to this story". He also called the story a "politically motivated hit piece".

Musk later expressed similar sentiments on his Twitter page.

Musk also claimed that the article was "written before [Business Insider] talked to [him]".

In response to Musk's denial and claims, Nicholas Carlson, Business Insider's editor-in-chief, responded:

"We stand by our story, which is based on documents and interviews and speaks for itself."

Top image via YouTube video.