Elon Musk

Business Insider - SpaceX, the aerospace firm founded by Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest man, paid a flight attendant $250,000 to settle a sexual misconduct claim against Musk in 2018, Insider has learned.The attendant worked as a member of the cabin crew on a contract basis for SpaceX's corporate jet fleet. She accused Musk of exposing his erect penis to her, rubbing her leg without consent, and offering to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage, according to interviews and documents obtained by Insider.

Robert Reich: How to reign Musk in

He may be the richest man in the world. He may own one of the world’s most influential social media platforms. He may lash out at anyone who dares criticize him. (After The Guardian published an earlier version of this post, Musk went on a Trump-like rant to his nearly 200 million followers, launching ad hominem attacks on me without disputing what I said.) But that doesn’t mean we’re powerless to stop him. Here are six ways to rein in Musk:

1. Boycott Tesla.

Consumers shouldn’t be making him even richer and able to do even more harm. A Tesla boycott may have already begun; a recent poll found that one-third of Britons are less likely to buy a Tesla because of Musk’s recent behavior.

2. Advertisers should boycott X.

A coalition of major advertisers has organized such a boycott. Musk is suing them under antitrust law. “We tried peace for 2 years, now it is war,” he wrote on X, referring to advertisers who criticize him and X.

3. Regulators around the world should stop Musk from disseminating lies and hate on X.

On August 24, French authorities arrested Pavel Durov, founder of the online communications tool Telegram, which French authorities have found complicit in hate crimes and disinformation. Like Musk, Durov has styled himself as a free speech absolutist. I’m not arguing that Musk or any other disseminator of lies and hate must necessarily be charged with crimes, but they should be held legally responsible for what they publish.

4. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission should demand that Musk take down lies that are likely to endanger individuals — and if he does not, sue him under Section 5 of the FTC Act.

Musk’s free-speech rights under the First Amendment don’t take precedence over the public interest. Two months ago, the Supreme Court said federal agencies may pressure social media platforms to take down misinformation — a technical win for the public good (technical because the court based its ruling on the plaintiff’s lack of standing to sue).

5. The U.S. government — and we taxpayers — have additional power over Musk, if we’re willing to use it. The U.S. should terminate its contracts with him, starting with Musk’s SpaceX....

6. Make sure Musk’s favorite candidate for president is not elected.

Mediaite - Elon Musk engaged in one of his regular habits on The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter, amplifying a controversial tweet by commenting that it was “interesting” — this time a right-wing account that called for democracy to be replaced with a government system run by “high status males” and “aneurotypical people.”