SpaceX paid a flight attendant on the company’s private jet fleet a quarter million dollars for her to keep silent after its founder, Elon Musk, exposed himself to her and propositioned her on a flight, Business Insider reports.
The unidentified woman worked as part of the contracted cabin crew staff used by the company to staff their flights. Documents obtained by Business Insider says Musk showed her his erect penis without her consent, rubbed her leg without her consent, and promised. to buy her a horse if she gave him an erotic massage.
When she took the contract with SpaceX, the woman was encouraged to become a certified masseuse as a way of making extra money and Musk’s penchant for getting massages in flight. It was during one of these sessions that Musk allegedly exposed himself.
“If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light,” Musk wrote in an email responding to a Business Insider inquiry, calling the story a “politically motivated hit piece.”
Neither Musk nor SpaceX’s lawyer would comment on why they would pay the woman if the assault didn’t take place.