Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and the richest man in the world is accused of harassment. The incident took place in 2016 and the company paid the victim $250,000 for settling a lawsuit filed two years later.

The flight attendant who accuses Musk worked at the SpaceX corporate fleet. The accusation is based on a declaration signed by her friend. Details of the story became known from both the declaration and other documents, including correspondence and other records received by journalists.

According to the declaration, after the woman was hired as a flight attendant, she was persuaded to obtain a license as a masseuse so that she could massage Musk. The incident occurred during one of the sessions in the private cabin Gulfstream G650ER, owned by the billionaire.

hat day she was invited for a “full massage”. According to the victim, during the session Musk exposed his genitals, touched her leg without consent and offered to buy the woman a horse if she “would do more”. This is evidenced by interviews and documents cited by Insider. 

The employee refused and continued the massage.

“The flight attendant is not for sale. She is not going to perform sexual favors for money or gifts,” the statement said.

After that, the flight attendant had less shifts and they began to unobtrusively push her out of the company. In 2018, after becoming convinced that her refusal to Musk reduced her job opportunities at SpaceX, the woman hired a lawyer and filed a complaint with the human resources department. At the same time, she and her friend prepared a declaration.

However, with the direct participation of the billionaire, the case was quickly shut down. In November 2018, Elon Musk, SpaceX, and the flight attendant signed an agreement on severance pay for the woman in the amount of $250,000 in exchange for a promise not to sue. They also forbade the worker to discuss severance pay and any details concerning the Musk’s companies.

The woman complied with this agreement, but her friend decided to make the case public without discussion with the flight attendant. She did not make any agreements, and silence, she said, makes her an accomplice.

So far, this is Musk’s only charge of sexual harassment. In response to a request from journalists, the billionaire wrote that it takes more time and that “there is much more to this story.”

“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 said and called the story another politically motivated hit piece.”