Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk has been accused of acting inappropriately years ago while on a flight, and the tech billionaire is defending his name with a full denial of the accusations and a demand for the accuser.
A report was published by Business Insider last night claiming that Musk paid $250,000 to settle a sexual misconduct accusation in 2018.
The outlet reported that Musk allegedly exposed himself to a flight attendant after “rubbing her leg without her consent,” and “offering to buy her a horse” while on a private flight paid for by Space X, then paid a quarter of a million dollars to buy her silence.
Musk almost immediately denied the report, saying the “wild accusations are utterly untrue” in a tweet. He also suggested the public refer to the story as “Elongate”, and the media appears to have run with this moniker.
He previously urged the public to use “Elongate” in the event there was ever a “scandal” about him in March of last year.
Finally, we get to use Elongate as scandal name. It’s kinda perfect. 🤣 https://t.co/qSNH7lsn72
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2022
After denying the claims, Musk later characterized the accuser as a “far left activist” and “actress” and challenged her to describe a tattoo or scar on his body that would add credibility to her story.
“I have a challenge to this liar who claims their friend saw me ‘exposed’ – describe just one thing, anything at all (scars, tattoos, …) that isn’t known by the public,” wrote Musk.
“She won’t be able to do so, because it never happened.”
But I have a challenge to this liar who claims their friend saw me “exposed” – describe just one thing, anything at all (scars, tattoos, …) that isn’t known by the public. She won’t be able to do so, because it never happened.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2022
After one Twitter user commented on the timing of the disclosure, Musk replied that he believes the accuser is politically motivated, and is attempting to use this accusation to derail his public life as he becomes involved in politics and plans to buy Twitter.
“The ‘friend’ in question who gave the interview to [Business Insider],” wrote Musk, “is a far left activist/actress in LA with a major political axe to grind.”
Exactly. Moreover, the “friend” in question who gave the interview to BI, is a far left activist/actress in LA with a major political axe to grind.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2022
Musk later stated that the goal of releasing the story was to “derail” his Twitter acquisition, which has been met with fierce opposition from the left, who believe it represents a threat to democracy.
“It was clear the only goal was a hit price [sic] to interfere with the Twitter acquisition,” wrote Musk, clarifying that he did not speak to Business Insider before the story was published. “The story was written before they even talked to me.”
He also used the opportunity to once again call for an edit button on Twitter while correcting his typo.
“hit piece”. Edit buttonnnnn!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2022
Musk’s offer to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share was accepted, with both parties signing an agreement to pay $1 billion for backing out of the deal soon after. Musk later took issue with Twitter’s claim that only 5% of its users are spam, and Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal responded by claiming that no external audit or metric would be able to achieve the same 5% number as Twitter.
This led Musk to question whether Twitter is misleading its advertisers, and say publicly that the deal cannot move forward at the current price until Twitter proves that only 5% of its users are inauthentic. He also sent Agrawal a poop emoji.
At the same time, Musk is embracing the Republican Party, seemingly considering it the only viable alternative to the Democrats, who Musk wrote spread a “woke mind virus” that will destroy humanity and prevent his ultimate goal of colonizing Mars unless stopped.
