Internal letter reveals SpaceX employees denounce CEO Musk as "distraction"
A group of SpaceX employees derided flamboyant billionaire Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk as a "distraction and embarrassment" in an internal letter to executives on Thursday.
Musk, also head of electric automaker Tesla Inc, has been in headlines and late-night comedy monologues in recent months for a tumultuous quest to buy social media giant Twitter, a reported allegation of sexual harassment that Musk has denied as well as crude comments online and a foray into political discourse.
"Elon's behaviour in the public sphere is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, particularly in recent weeks," read the letter, which does not single out any controversy in particular.
"As our CEO and most prominent spokesperson, Elon is seen as the face of SpaceX - every tweet that Elon sends is a de facto public statement by the company," the letter added.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The open letter, earlier reported by The Verge, was drafted by SpaceX employees in recent weeks and shared as an attachment in an internal "Morale Boosters" group chat, which contains thousands of employees, according to a person familiar with the matter.
It was not clear who authored the letter or how many employees were involved in its drafting.