SpaceX reportedly fired employees for criticizing Musk, saying it was a
“distraction” from the company’s “critical work.” Mmk.
Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, is in the process of closing a $44
billion deal to buy Twitter because he was very upset that some people got
kicked off the platform for being hateful, disinformation-peddling Nazis.
He believes in Free Speech, and he believes in it For Everyone—unless,
apparently, you want to criticize him.
At 2:00 a.m. on Friday morning, the New York Times reported that SpaceX
had allegedly fired some employees who were involved in writing and
distributing an open letter to their boss, Elon Musk. The (now former)
employees criticized Musk’s latest conduct, including his behavior on
Twitter and the recent sexual misconduct allegation against him, writing
that it’s “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment.”
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The letter also asked SpaceX to rein Musk in, writing that the company’s
leaders should “publicly address and condemn Elon’s harmful Twitter
behavior” and “define and uniformly respond to all forms of unacceptable
behavior.” That letter was reportedly circulated on Wednesday, and by
Thursday afternoon, a number of the employees involved were fired—though
it’s unclear how many.
“The 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,”
Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer, said in
an e-mail to employees, which was obtained by the New York Times.“We have
too much critical work to accomplish and no need for this kind of
overreaching activism.”
SpaceX is, of course, a big engineering company with probably plenty of
critical work to do. But if Shotwell is referring to Musk’s critical
advocacy work of making sure this country upholds its commitment to free
speech—which would definitely include allowing your employees to be
disappointed in you—then it feels like SpaceX is really fucking up Musk’s
First Amendment crusade.
On Thursday, Musk held his first town hall with Twitter employees and
reiterated how important it was that the social media company let users
say whatever they want. “I think it’s essential to have free speech and
for people to be able to communicate freely,” Musk said during the
Q&A. It’s beyond parody.
“Please stay focused on the SpaceX mission, and use your time to do your
best work,” Shotwell’s e-mail concluded. “This is how we will get to
Mars.”
Shut up, do your work, don’t criticize your asshole leader, and one day
maybe we’ll get to do this all on another planet! Sounds incredible, where
does one apply?
For a lot of people, “free speech” means “speech that I like”, or “speech
that’s targeting disfavored groups”. A union could be effective in a
situation like this.
Union busters like Musk are just fucking unbelievable... “we don’t need a
union, employees and management can work things out directly without a
third party” ... employees try to work things out directly without a union
and suddenly it’s “There’s no room for this here, you’re fired.”
So, he’s a typical GOP politician then? “Free speech for me, but not for
thee”. Color me not surprised.
FILE - a SpaceX logo is displayed on a building on May 26, 2020, at the
Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. SpaceX, the rocket ship
company run by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has fired several employees involved
in an open letter that blasted the colorful billionaire for his behavior,
according to media reports Friday, June 17, 2022. (AP Photo/David J.
Phillip, File)
FILE - a SpaceX logo is displayed on a building on May 26, 2020, at the
Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. SpaceX, the rocket ship
company run by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has fired several employees involved
in an open letter that blasted the colorful billionaire for his behavior,
according to media reports Friday, June 17, 2022. (AP Photo/David J.
Phillip, File)
HAWTHORNE, Calif. (AP) — SpaceX, the rocket ship company run by Tesla CEO
Elon Musk, has fired several employees involved in an open letter that
blasted the colorful billionaire for his behavior, according to media
reports.
The reports published Friday cited an email from Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s
president, saying the company had terminated employees who put together
and circulated the letter. The letter writers denounced Musk for actions
that they said are a “frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for
us, particularly in recent weeks.”
The New York Times was the first outlet to report the purge, based on
information from three employees familiar with the situation. The
employees were not named.
It’s unclear how many SpaceX workers lost their jobs, but Shotwell left no
doubt that the company believed they had crossed an unacceptable line.
A Tesla Inc shareholder sued the electric car maker, Chief Executive Elon
Musk and its board, accusing them of neglecting to tackle complaints about
workplace discrimination and harassment, and engendering a "toxic
workplace culture."
Thursday's lawsuit is the latest against Tesla, which has been accused of
racial discrimination and sexual harassment in its factories.
"Tesla has created a toxic workplace culture grounded in racist and sexist
abuse and discrimination against its own employees," the investor, Solomon
Chau, said.
"This toxic work environment has gestated internally for years, and only
recently has the truth about Tesla's culture emerged," he added in the
complaint.
"Tesla's toxic workplace culture has caused financial harm and irreparable
damage to the company's reputation."
Tesla did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment outside
regular U.S. business hours.
Kendall Law Group PLLC, the lawyers representing Chau, were not available
outside regular U.S. business hours.
Tesla has said it does not tolerate discrimination and has taken steps to
tackle workers' complaints.
The lawsuit accuses the defendants -- Musk, 11 Tesla board members and the
company -- of having breached their fiduciary duty by failing to address
and remedy the red flags concerning internal reports of discrimination and
harassment.
This caused Tesla to lose high-quality employees and incur costs for
defending cases and settling fines for violations, the lawsuit said.
The case is Chau et al v. Musk et al, US District Court, Western District
of Texas (Austin), 1:22-cv-00592.