Three employees at SpaceX have been terminated after writing an open letter in which they referred to CEO Elon Musk as a “source of distraction and embarrassment.” The letter, which began circulating on Wednesday and was reported on by tech publication The Verge, criticized Musk for his frequent tweets, stating that they function as “de facto public statements by the company.” Musk, who is in the process of acquiring Twitter for $44 billion, is an avid user of the platform, utilizing it to share corporate news, disparage competitors like Bill Gates, and post memes. His tweets have previously gotten him into trouble with regulators, but have also garnered him a substantial following of 98.4 million users.
The open letter stated, “Elon’s behavior in the public sphere is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, particularly in recent weeks.” In response, SpaceX terminated the employment of the three individuals who wrote the letter after it had been posted in a company-wide chat forum that is read by thousands of employees. In an all-staff email confirming the terminations, company president Gwynne Shotwell wrote, “The letter, solicitations, and general process made employees feel uncomfortable, intimidated, bullied, and/or angry because the letter pressured them to sign onto something that did not reflect their views. We have too much critical work to accomplish and no need for this kind of overreaching activism,” as reported by the New York Times.
Musk, who serves as CEO of both SpaceX and Tesla, has previously courted controversy with his Twitter activity. He referred to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as the “Shortseller Enrichment Commission” and claimed he was considering taking Tesla private at a share price of $420, which was seen as a reference to US cannabis culture. The SEC later fined Musk $20 million for publishing deceptive statements about Tesla.
Musk has faced accusations of fostering a culture of hire-and-fire. The book “Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century” published in 2021 alleged that the Tesla CEO created an environment of fear within the company. Musk has denied these allegations and declared the book to be false on Twitter.
Separate reports released on Friday indicated that Tesla is conducting layoffs in its sales and delivery teams across North America. This comes after Musk recently expressed feeling pessimistic about the US economy, stating that he had a “super bad feeling.” Musk’s companies have also been the subject of lawsuits regarding their treatment of employees, with ongoing legal cases against Tesla in the US for alleged discrimination and harassment within its factories.
Yesterday, a Tesla shareholder, one of Musk’s most well-known businesses, filed a lawsuit against Musk and the Tesla board, accusing them of perpetuating a “toxic workplace culture” that purportedly caused “financial harm and irreparable damage to the company’s reputation.” Tesla has yet to respond to the lawsuit. Comments were requested from Tesla and SpaceX.
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