SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell. REUTERS/Mike Blake
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, who holds one of the highest positions in the male-dominated aerospace industry, defended Elon Musk against a sexual misconduct allegation that he has denied, according to media reports on Monday.
The Business Insider website reported last week that Musk’s Los Angeles-based rocket company paid $250,000 in 2018 to settle a sexual harassment claim from an unnamed private jet flight attendant.
“Personally, I believe the allegations to be false; not because I work for Elon, but because I have worked closely with him for 20 years and never seen nor heard anything resembling these allegations,” Shotwell wrote in an email to employees last week, according to a report by CNBC.
Musk, CEO of SpaceX, has denied the report of harassment, calling the person who made the claim a liar.
The Business Insider article quoted an anonymous person who said she was a friend of the flight attendant. The friend had provided a statement as part of the private settlement process, according to the article.
SpaceX and Shotwell could not immediately be reached for comment.