Even as billionaire Elon Musk denies allegations of sexual harassment

*Paromita Das

As Tesla CEO Elon Musk meets with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, the billionaire has denied sexually harassing a flight attendant on a private jet in 2016, according to media reports. He has called a news report that made the allegations “utterly false.” Despite the remarks, Tesla shares fell more than 10% on Friday. SpaceX paid $250,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim in 2018, according to sources cited by Business Insider on Thursday. The money was given to an unidentified flight attendant on a private jet flight. Musk appears to have accused her of exposing himself to her.
Musk wrote on Twitter on Thursday, “I have a challenge for this liar who claims a friend saw me ‘exposed’ – describe just one thing, anything at all (scars, tattoos, etc.) that isn’t known to the general public. She will be unable to do so because it never occurred.”

On Friday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk met Bolsonaro at a luxurious resort in Sao Paulo state to discuss connectivity and other projects in the Amazon rainforest. Fábio Faria, the Minister of Communications, organized the meeting.

Musk tweeted on Friday morning, “Super excited to be in Brazil for the launch of Starlink for 19,000 unconnected schools in rural areas & Amazon environmental monitoring.”
“We rely on Elon Musk to make the Amazon known to everyone in Brazil and around the world, to demonstrate the exuberance of this region, how we are preserving it, and how much harm those who spread lies about it are doing to us,” Bolsonaro said.

During the event, Bolsonaro referred to Musk’s proposed takeover of Twitter as a “breath of hope.”