Elon Musk illegally fired SpaceX employees who criticised him for his Twitter/X antics, claims US Labour Board

SpaceX, the space exploration company led by CEO Elon Musk, has been accused by the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) of unlawfully terminating eight employees who were involved in drafting an internal letter critical of Musk.

The complaint, issued by an NLRB regional director, alleges that SpaceX engaged in illegal practices such as interrogation, surveillance, and retaliation against the workers who authored the 2022 open letter.

In the letter, the employees expressed concerns about Musk’s behaviour on X, then Twitter, citing “inappropriate, disparaging, sexually charged comments.”

The NLRB complaint claims that SpaceX management justified the terminations by referencing the open letter, restricted the distribution of the letter, and warned of further terminations if collective action was taken. The trial for this case is scheduled to begin on March 5.

One of the fired workers, Paige Holland-Thielen, commented, “At SpaceX, the rockets may be reusable, but the people who build them are treated as expendable.” The workers are hopeful that the charges will hold SpaceX and its leadership accountable for what they perceive as a history of mistreatment of employees and suppression of discourse.

This incident follows a 2022 open letter circulated by employees criticizing Musk’s online behaviour and calling on SpaceX to distance itself from his public comments. Shortly after the letter was circulated internally, several employees involved in drafting it were terminated.

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While Musk has professed to be a “free speech absolutist,” his companies, including SpaceX and Tesla, have faced accusations from the US government of attempting to suppress rights protecting workers.

SpaceX settled a claim last year related to an attempt to stifle an employee’s speech, and Musk’s social media company, X, settled with a former employee who was allegedly fired for protesting a return-to-office mandate.

Additionally, NLRB members argued that Tesla illegally terminated an activist. Tesla is currently appealing the decision in federal court.

(With inputs from agencies)