SpaceX Fires at Least Five Over Letter Critical of Elon Musk

The CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk, has fired at least five workers over a critical letter that the company received on June 17. The company cited three actions that the employees requested: more time to meet with the executive team, publicizing Elon’s “harmful Twitter behavior,” and clarifying the company’s “Zero Tolerance” sexual harassment policy. Mashable has reached out to SpaceX for comment.

Elon Musk has been criticized for tweeting about Bill Gates and the late SpaceX founder. He also posted an emoji of a poop during an online discussion with Parag Agrawal. SpaceX employees, upset by Musk’s antics, wrote an open letter to him, claiming his tweets painted his company in a negative light.

In response, SpaceX has fired at least five of its employees. The letter criticizing Elon Musk was written by two employees and was posted to the company’s messaging system. It was shared on Twitter and spread across the internet. The company didn’t immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. But the New York Times, which cited three SpaceX employees who were fired, reported the firings. While SpaceX declined to comment on the matter, a spokesperson for the company has said it will investigate the letter.

According to three SpaceX employees, at least five people were fired after the company received the open letter. In a letter to employees, the company described the letter as “overreaching activism” and said it fired the organizers. The employees said the letter made them feel intimidated, angry, and bullied. While SpaceX did not publicly specify how many people were fired, two sources told CNBC that at least five people were fired. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

SpaceX is a company with over 12,000 employees. The open letter asked employees to sign an anonymous letter. The letter also included a website that employees could share stories about the company with their managers. The letter’s author, Jeff Shotwell, is one of the company’s earliest employees and has helped shape SpaceX more than anyone else, even Musk. He runs much of the company’s day-to-day operations, ensuring smooth relations with NASA and customers.

The firings came just days after the company posted a job listing for a lawyer. A few employees were fired for writing critical letters about the CEO. The company also hired a top engineer from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Allen Chen. The two had worked together at the agency for 10 years. The lawsuit filed by the Ukrainian government will result in the firing of at least a dozen people.