Despite Elon Musk‘s frequent claims of being a “free speech absolutist,” several SpaceX employees have been fired after writing an open letter calling him an “embarrassment” to the company. For the past few months, Musk has tanked both the stock of Tesla and Twitter in pursuit of his acquisition of the latter, and SpaceX employees feel his constant trolling reflects poorly on their hardwork. There’s also the alleged sexual harassment of a SpaceX flight attendant, which was also cited in the letter.
The writers, who have been terminated for sharing the document in the company’s internal chat system, implored SpaceX to live up to its “No Asshole” policy and it’s “zero tolerance sexual harassment policy.” Via The Verge:
“Elon’s behavior in the public sphere is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, particularly in recent weeks,” the letter states. “As our CEO and most prominent spokesperson, Elon is seen as the face of SpaceX — every Tweet that Elon sends is a de facto public statement by the company. It is critical to make clear to our teams and to our potential talent pool that his messaging does not reflect our work, our mission, or our values.”
Following its publication, several employees involved in the drafting of the letter were fired by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell. “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,” Shotwell wrote in a company-wide email. “We have too much critical work to accomplish and no need for this kind of overreaching activism.”
The chilling termination of his critics flies in the face of Musk’s constant proclamations that he loves free speech. His entire pursuit of Twitter has been hinged on ridding it of censorship, which has resulted in Musk firing off tweets that have, clearly, not aged well.
“I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” Musk wrote back in April.
I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022
(Via The Verge)