SpaceX employees slam Elon Musk in open letter

In a recent open letter by SpaceX employees, Elon Musk has been called "a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment", among other negative claims. 

"Elon's behaviour in the public sphere is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, particularly in recent weeks," states the letter, "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 adds that Elon's actions and behaviours do not reflect the work, mission and values of SpaceX. The letter is to be signed by SpaceX employees and delivered to Gwynne Shotwell, current President of SpaceX.

The letter further brings up concerns regarding CEO Elon Musk and how he has been affecting SpaceX's reputations due to his recent tweets and sexual allegations. 

"SpaceX's current systems and culture do not live up to its stated values, as many employees continue to experience unequal enforcement of our oft-repeated "No Asshole" and "Zero Tolerance" policies. This must change": the letter reads.

It is currently unknown how many signatures the open letter has generated, but according to a report by The Verge, it has sparked over a hundred comments in the internal team channel of SpaceX.

In regards to controlling the impact Musk has on the company, the letter has also set ultimatums for the SpaceX executive team. 

Conditions set forth in the letter are: "Publicly address and condemn Elon's harmful Twitter behaviour, hold all leadership equally accountable to making SpaceX a great place to work for everyone, and define and uniformly respond to all forms of unacceptable behaviour."

Last month, Insider reported that a former SpaceX flight attendant was paid $250,000 in settlement after she had made sexual misconduct accusations against Musk. She had claimed that Musk had exposed himself to her during a massage session and offered to buy her a horse if she had "done more" to him.

Such accusations were denied by both Musk and Shotwell. However, it seemed to have made an impact on the SpaceX workforce as the matter is being revisited in this open letter.