(Reuters) – Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk denounced in a report “totally false” allegations that he sexually harassed a flight attendant on a plane in 2016.
Shares of the electric carmaker fell more than 10% on Friday, as allegations of sexual misconduct and Musk’s political comments could threaten to damage Tesla’s logo and sales.
Business Insider reported Thursday that Musk’s company, SpaceX, paid $250,000 in 2018 to resolve a sexual harassment complaint through an anonymous flight attendant who accused Musk of exposing himself to it.
The article quoted an anonymous user who claimed to be friends with the flight attendant. The friend had provided a component of the user agreement process, according to the article.
“I challenge this liar who claims her friend saw me ‘exposed’; just describe one thing, anything (scars, tattoos, Array. . . ) that is not known to the public. She may not be able to do that, because it never happened,” Musk wrote on Twitter Thursday night.
Reuters could not determine Business Insider’s account.
Musk and SpaceX responded to Reuters’ requests for comment on the Business Insider story or the billionaire’s tweets.
In a message to Reuters on Friday, Business Insider said: “We resist in our story that is based on documents and interviews and that speaks for itself. “
Allegations of sexual misconduct “have the potential, from a public perspective, to deter people,” said Sam Abuelsamid, an analyst at Guidehouse Insights.
Friday’s inventory cut caused Tesla’s market to fall by about $66 billion and put inventory at its lowest point since last August.
Stocks have fallen sharply since early April, as Musk’s plan to buy Twitter has raised concerns about distraction and China’s COVID lockdown measures have hurt Tesla’s output.
Ross Gerber, CEO of Tesla investor Gerber Kaaki Wealth Management, said it implied Tesla is so much based on one person, Musk, but believes its liberal consumers will continue to buy Musk’s cars, even if they don’t like what he says. , as Tesla’s project is clear.
Business Insider quoted the flight attendant’s friend as saying that, in addition to allegedly exposing himself, Musk rubbed the flight attendant’s thigh and showed up to buy her a horse if she “did more” a massage during the flight.
The flight attendant concluded that her refusal to accept Musk’s proposal hurt her chances of running at SpaceX and led her to hire a lawyer in 2018, according to Business Insider.
In 2018, the rocket company paid $250,000 in exchange for a promise not to pursue claims and included a confidentiality agreement that prevented the flight attendant from speaking about it, Business Insider said. The news did not call the friend or the flight attendant.
Musk, who is in the midst of a questionable effort to buy Twitter Inc, said Wednesday he would vote Republican or Democrat, predicting a “low-blow campaign against me” would follow.
On Thursday night, Musk tweeted for the first time: “Attacks on me will have to be noticed from a political attitude, this is your popular (despicable) playbook, but nothing will deter me from fighting for a smart long term and your right to free speech. “
In the initial tweet, he didn’t specifically mention the allegations in the Business Insider article.
He also tweeted that the article was intended to interfere with twitter’s takeover.