SpaceX Fires Staff Involved in Open Letter Blasting Elon Musk

pcmag.com:

SpaceX fired a number of employees involved in writing and distributing a letter criticizing chief executive Elon Musk, according to The New York Times(Opens in a new window).

The open letter, first reported by The Verge(Opens in a new window), describes Musk's conduct as "a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, particularly in recent weeks," and asks the private space firm to "publicly address and condemn Elon's harmful Twitter behavior."

"As our CEO and most prominent spokesperson, Elon is seen as the face of SpaceX," the letter said. "Every tweet that Elon sends is a de facto public statement by the company."

In a follow-up email to staff, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell announced the termination of "a number of employees involved." It's unclear how many workers were fired; SpaceX did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment.

"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. "We have too much critical work to accomplish and no need for this kind of overreaching activism," she said, citing three Starlink satellite launches within 37 hours this weekend, as well as the first Starship orbital launch attempt.

One employee, speaking anonymously to The Verge(Opens in a new window), called Shotwell's email "tone deaf," explaining that their scathing letter was the result of a "month of dedicated hard work and soliciting feedback to try to make sure we got as much input as possible."

Musk, currently in the throes of a contentious deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion, this week addressed(Opens in a new window) the social