SpaceX employees want to create distance between Elon Musk and the company, citing concerns over the CEO’s ’embarrassing’ public behavior.
Elon Musk’s recent behavior has been labeled as a ‘distraction’ and ‘embarrassing’ by a group of SpaceX employees in an open letter. Musk is a highly controversial figure and one that has, on multiple occasions, generated instant headlines with his actions. However, the SpaceX CEO has himself been somewhat distracted recently with an attempt to take over Twitter.
Besides SpaceX and possibly Twitter, Musk is also in charge of other companies including The Boring Company and Tesla. The latter of which has had its own share of ups and downs recently, and with Musk typically at the center. Following Musk’s initial attempt to forcibly takeover Twitter, Tesla investors and shares felt the impact. Even more recently, Musk made clear a need to trim the Tesla workforce, and require all employees to return to the office or look for somewhere else to work.
In an open letter reportedly shared this week in an internal SpaceX Microsoft Teams channel, the employees made clear how they find Elon Musk’s recent behavior to be unaligned with their own values. Published by The Verge, the letter explains how Musk’s behavior is a “frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us.” Although no specific behavior examples were given, the letter does call out “Elon’s behavior in the public sphere” and touches on “recent allegations” as well as Musk’s recent interactions with and on Twitter. As to be expected, the letter doesn’t reflect the sentiments of every SpaceX employee, but employees are reportedly encouraging as many as possible to co-sign the letter in solidarity.
SpaceX Employees Not A Fan Of Twitter Musk
One of the clear messages relayed in the letter is that Elon Musk and SpaceX are not the same. A message that the letter not only wants to embed in the mind of the general public, but the SpaceX workforce as well. At the same time, the letter highlights how the two are often viewed as interchangeable, referring to Musk as “the face of SpaceX” and a Musk Tweet as a “de facto public statement by the company.” Due to this, the letter looks to create some clear separation between the CEO and the company in the future, even going so far as to say that SpaceX must distance itself “from Elon’s personal brand” by publicly condemning “Elon’s harmful Twitter behavior.”
The letter also calls attention to “recent allegations against our CEO,” seemingly in reference to the recent allegations of sexual harassment following a report by Insider. Without directly referring to the specific allegations, the letter addresses issues of “workplace culture” and calls for SpaceX to enforce “repercussions for all unacceptable behavior” and “hold all leadership equally accountable” for their actions. The letter also requests in-person meetings with SpaceX executives to discuss these issues.
Elon Musk is not for everyone, and whichever side of the Musk fence someone falls on, companies associated with Musk often have to deal with the impact of that connection. In some cases, the link can prove beneficial both in terms of attention and business. For others, seemingly including these SpaceX employees, being linked to Elon Musk in recent times has not been worth the trouble.
