(Reuters) -Tesla Inc Chief Government Elon Musk has denounced as “completely unfaithful” claims in a information report that he sexually harassed a flight attendant on a non-public jet in 2016.
Shares of the electrical carmaker skidded greater than 10% on Friday amid considerations that the alleged sexual misconduct and Musk’s political feedback may threaten to break Tesla’s model and gross sales.
Enterprise Insider reported on Thursday that Musk’s non-public firm SpaceX paid $250,000 in 2018 to settle a sexual harassment declare from an unnamed non-public jet flight attendant who accused Musk of exposing himself to her.
The article quoted an nameless one who mentioned she was a pal of the flight attendant. The pal had offered an announcement as a part of the non-public settlement course of, in response to the article.
“I’ve a problem to this liar who claims their pal noticed me ‘uncovered’ – describe only one factor, something in any respect (scars, tattoos, …) that isn’t recognized by the general public. She gained’t have the ability to take action, as a result of it by no means occurred,” Musk wrote on Twitter late on Thursday.
Reuters was not capable of confirm the Enterprise Insider account.
Musk and SpaceX didn’t reply to Reuters requests for touch upon the Enterprise Insider story or on tweets by the billionaire.
In an announcement to Reuters on Friday, Enterprise Insider mentioned: “We stand by our story which relies on paperwork and interviews and which speaks for itself.”
The sexual misconduct claims “have the potential from a PR perspective to show folks off,” mentioned Guidehouse Insights analyst Sam Abuelsamid.
Friday’s share drop knocked about $66 billion off Tesla’s market worth and put the inventory at its lowest since final August.
The shares have fallen sharply since early April as Musk’s plan to purchase Twitter sparked considerations about distraction and as China’s COVID lockdown measures harm manufacturing at Tesla.
Ross Gerber, CEO of Tesla investor Gerber Kawasaki Wealth Administration, mentioned he’s involved that Tesla depends so closely on a single particular person, Musk, however he believes his liberal purchasers will proceed shopping for Musk’s vehicles, even when they don’t like what he says, since Tesla’s mission is evident.
POLITICAL ATTACKS?
Enterprise Insider quoted the pal of the flight attendant as saying that along with allegedly exposing himself, Musk rubbed the flight attendant’s thigh and supplied to purchase her a horse if she would “do extra” throughout an in-flight therapeutic massage.
The flight attendant got here to consider that her refusal to just accept Musk’s proposal had harm her alternatives to work at SpaceX and prompted her to rent a lawyer in 2018, in response to Enterprise Insider.
In 2018, the rocket firm paid $250,000 in trade for a promise to not sue over the claims and included a nondisclosure settlement that prevented the flight attendant from talking about it, Enterprise Insider mentioned. The information web site didn’t title the pal or the flight attendant.
Musk, who’s within the midst of a contentious effort to purchase Twitter Inc, mentioned on Wednesday that he would vote Republican as an alternative of Democrat, predicting a “soiled tips marketing campaign in opposition to me” would observe.
On Thursday night, Musk first tweeted: “The assaults in opposition to me ought to be seen via a political lens – that is their commonplace (despicable) playbook – however nothing will deter me from preventing for a very good future and your proper to free speech.”
Within the preliminary tweet, he didn’t particularly point out the allegations within the Enterprise Insider article.
He additionally tweeted that the article was meant to intervene with the Twitter acquisition.
Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joey Roulette, Further reporting by Ross Keber, Noel Randewich; diting by Frances Kerry, Invoice Berkrot and Daniel Wallis
