Elon Musk Is a Huge ‘Free Speech’ Advocate, But If You Criticize Him, You’re Fired
SpaceX reportedly fired employees for criticizing Musk, saying it was a “distraction” from the company’s “critical work.” Mmk.
Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, is in the process of closing a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter because he was very upset that some people got kicked off the platform for being hateful, disinformation-peddling Nazis. He believes in Free Speech, and he believes in it For Everyone—unless, apparently, you want to criticize him.
At 2:00 a.m. on Friday morning, the New York Times reported that SpaceX had allegedly fired some employees who were involved in writing and distributing an open letter to their boss, Elon Musk. The (now former) employees criticized Musk’s latest conduct, including his behavior on Twitter and the recent sexual misconduct allegation against him, writing that it’s “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment.”
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The letter also asked SpaceX to rein Musk in, writing that the company’s leaders should “publicly address and condemn Elon’s harmful Twitter behavior” and “define and uniformly respond to all forms of unacceptable behavior.” That letter was reportedly circulated on Wednesday, and by Thursday afternoon, a number of the employees involved were fired—though it’s unclear how many.
“The letter, solicitations and general process made employees feel uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied, and/or angry because the letter pressured them to sign onto something that did not reflect their views,” Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer, said in an e-mail to employees, which was obtained by the New York Times.“We have too much critical work to accomplish and no need for this kind of overreaching activism.”
SpaceX is, of course, a big engineering company with probably plenty of critical work to do. But if Shotwell is referring to Musk’s critical advocacy work of making sure this country upholds its commitment to free speech—which would definitely include allowing your employees to be disappointed in you—then it feels like SpaceX is really fucking up Musk’s First Amendment crusade.
On Thursday, Musk held his first town hall with Twitter employees and reiterated how important it was that the social media company let users say whatever they want. “I think it’s essential to have free speech and for people to be able to communicate freely,” Musk said during the Q&A. It’s beyond parody.
“Please stay focused on the SpaceX mission, and use your time to do your best work,” Shotwell’s e-mail concluded. “This is how we will get to Mars.”
Shut up, do your work, don’t criticize your asshole leader, and one day maybe we’ll get to do this all on another planet! Sounds incredible, where does one apply?
For a lot of people, “free speech” means “speech that I like”, or “speech that’s targeting disfavored groups”. A union could be effective in a situation like this.
Union busters like Musk are just fucking unbelievable… “we don’t need a union, employees and management can work things out directly without a third party” … employees try to work things out directly without a union and suddenly it’s “There’s no room for this here, you’re fired.”
So, he’s a typical GOP politician then? “Free speech for me, but not for thee”. Color me not surprised.
FILE – a SpaceX logo is displayed on a building on May 26, 2020, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. SpaceX, the rocket ship company run by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has fired several employees involved in an open letter that blasted the colorful billionaire for his behavior, according to media reports Friday, June 17, 2022. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
FILE – a SpaceX logo is displayed on a building on May 26, 2020, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. SpaceX, the rocket ship company run by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has fired several employees involved in an open letter that blasted the colorful billionaire for his behavior, according to media reports Friday, June 17, 2022. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
HAWTHORNE, Calif. (AP) — SpaceX, the rocket ship company run by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has fired several employees involved in an open letter that blasted the colorful billionaire for his behavior, according to media reports.
The reports published Friday cited an email from Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president, saying the company had terminated employees who put together and circulated the letter. The letter writers denounced Musk for actions that they said are a “frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, particularly in recent weeks.”
The New York Times was the first outlet to report the purge, based on information from three employees familiar with the situation. The employees were not named.
It’s unclear how many SpaceX workers lost their jobs, but Shotwell left no doubt that the company believed they had crossed an unacceptable line.
A Tesla Inc shareholder sued the electric car maker, Chief Executive Elon Musk and its board, accusing them of neglecting to tackle complaints about workplace discrimination and harassment, and engendering a “toxic workplace culture.”
Thursday’s lawsuit is the latest against Tesla, which has been accused of racial discrimination and sexual harassment in its factories.
“Tesla has created a toxic workplace culture grounded in racist and sexist abuse and discrimination against its own employees,” the investor, Solomon Chau, said.
“This toxic work environment has gestated internally for years, and only recently has the truth about Tesla’s culture emerged,” he added in the complaint.
“Tesla’s toxic workplace culture has caused financial harm and irreparable damage to the company’s reputation.”
Tesla did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment outside regular U.S. business hours.
Kendall Law Group PLLC, the lawyers representing Chau, were not available outside regular U.S. business hours.
Tesla has said it does not tolerate discrimination and has taken steps to tackle workers’ complaints.
The lawsuit accuses the defendants — Musk, 11 Tesla board members and the company — of having breached their fiduciary duty by failing to address and remedy the red flags concerning internal reports of discrimination and harassment.
This caused Tesla to lose high-quality employees and incur costs for defending cases and settling fines for violations, the lawsuit said.
The case is Chau et al v. Musk et al, US District Court, Western District of Texas (Austin), 1:22-cv-00592.
