In May 2022, Business Insider cited an anonymous friend of an unnamed SpaceX contract flight attendant, alleging that Musk engaged in sexual misconduct in 2016.
The source stated that in November 2018, Musk, SpaceX, and the former flight attendant entered into a severance agreement granting the attendant a $250,000 payment in exchange for a promise not to sue over the claims
Musk responded, "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 accused the article from Business Insider of being a "politically motivated hit piece".
After the release of the Business Insider article, Tesla's stock fell by more than 6%,[459] decreasing Musk's net worth by $10 billion.
Barron's wrote "...some investors considered key-man risk – the danger that a company could be badly hurt by the loss of one individual."
Though Musk's ventures were influential within their own industries in the 2000s, Musk only became a public figure in the early 2010s
He is often described as an eccentric who makes spontaneous and controversial statements, contrary to other billionaires who prefer reclusiveness to protect their businesses.
Celebrated by fans and hated by critics, Musk was described by Vance as having become very polarizing because of his "part philosopher, part troll" role on Twitter.
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