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All of a sudden, some of those recent tweets from Elon Musk make a little more sense.

A bombshell report dropped last night, alleging that SpaceX paid a flight attendant $250 000 (just shy of R4 million) in 2018 to settle a sexual misconduct claim against Musk.

Business Insider first ran the story, which alleges that the attendant worked as a member of the cabin crew on a contract basis for SpaceX’s corporate jet fleet.

The woman claims Musk exposed his erect penis to her and rubbed her leg without consent. He then offered to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage:

The incident, which took place in 2016, is alleged in a declaration signed by a friend of the attendant and prepared in support of her claim…

According to the declaration, the attendant confided to the friend that after taking the flight attendant job, she was encouraged to get licensed as a masseuse so that she could give Musk massages. It was during one such massage in a private cabin on Musk’s Gulfstream G650ER, she told the friend, that Musk propositioned her.

After Insider contacted Musk for comment, he emailed to ask for more time to respond and said there is “a lot 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,” he wrote, calling the story is a “politically motivated hit piece.”

It’s here that we should talk about those recent tweets.

Musk sent this two days ago:

Political attacks on me will escalate dramatically in coming months

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 18, 2022

A few hours later, he outlined why he would now vote Republican:

In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party.

But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican.

Now, watch their dirty tricks campaign against me unfold … 🍿

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 18, 2022

Strange that the man at the helm of Tesla would champion the party that minimises the threat of climate change, but he’s free to vote as he pleases.

When you piece the timing of those tweets together, it’s rather intriguing:

Order of events:

1) Reporter contacts Musk to comment on story regarding allegations against him

2) Musk announces he’s voting Republican and that he now expects to be attacked

3) Story comes out

4) Musk claims it’s a hit piece attacking him for supporting Republicans

— KnowNothing (@KnowNothingTV) May 20, 2022

Via The Verge, the timing is further outlined:

Elon’s tweets were posted shortly after the outlet reached out for comment, making it seem as if he was trying to get out ahead of the story by priming people to not believe the next thing he was accused of. The outlet says he requested more time to respond further, but never responded again after Insider extended the deadline.

Back to those allegations:

The attendant, who rides horses, declined and continued with the massage without engaging in any sexual conduct. The attendant “is not for sale,” the friend’s declaration said. “She is not going to perform sexual favors for money or gifts.” The incident occurred during a flight to London.

In an interview with Insider, the friend described the attendant’s allegations in more detail…

“He whipped out his penis, it was erect,” the friend said, describing the allegations. “And he started propositioning her, like he touched her thigh and told her he would buy her a horse. And he basically tried to bribe her to perform some sort of sexual favor.”

The friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she fears for her personal safety, said that after the above incident the flight attendant’s work suddenly dried up.

The attendant then hired a lawyer in 2018 and the issue was resolved via mediation, which Musk allegedly attended in person.

SpaceX and the woman reached a severance agreement where she was paid $250 000 and promised not to sue over the claims, with non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses included.

This is the first time Musk has been publicly accused of such behaviour, but his companies have:

Employees at SpaceX and Tesla, however, have previously said that both companies helmed by Musk have cultures of sexual harassment.

One worker at SpaceX said that the company didn’t take meaningful action after they reported being groped by coworkers, and Tesla is facing multiple lawsuits over its HR department failing to protect workers who were “objectified, threatened, touched, and propositioned on the factory floor.”

One worker said that Musk’s tweets, which sometimes contain sexual innuendos, help to set an example for how employees behave.

Memes, innuendos, and of late rants about being the victim of politically motivated attacks.

Just another tough day in the life of the world’s wealthiest person.

[sources:businsider&verge]