SpaceX CEO Elon Musk attended a press conference after the launch of the Press Site auditorium at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 30, 2020, following the launch of the agency’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station.
NASA / Kim Shiflet
SpaceX has fired at least five employees involved in distributing a letter around the company criticizing CEO Elon Musk, two people familiar with the company told CNBC.
The open letter, first reported by The Verge, was distributed and signed by an unknown number of SpaceX employees earlier this week. According to media reports, the letter was addressed to the company’s executives and described the billionaire’s public behavior as a “frequent source of distraction and embarrassment” for SpaceX employees.
Musk is the controlling shareholder of the private company, and he owns about 78% of SpaceX’s voting shares last year. The CEO has created an often eccentric figure in the public sphere, especially on Twitter, where he offers comments and updates on SpaceX and its electric vehicle company Tesla.
Musk has often said he uses Twitter to express himself, comparing the use of the service to how “some people use their hair” and is seeking to acquire the social media company.
Musk said during a general Twitter meeting on Thursday that freedom of speech is crucial for users of the platform – even if a company is privately owned, such as SpaceX.
SpaceX’s internal letter also cites recent allegations of sexual misconduct against Musk, Business Insider reported last month. The report says Musk sexually harassed a SpaceX flight attendant during a private flight and that the company paid the employee $ 250,000 for her silence.
SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwyn Shotwell defended Musk after allegations of misconduct, writing to officials that he believed the allegations were “false.”
The New York Times first reported the launch of SpaceX. SpaceX did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
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