Elon Musk had a sexual relationship with a SpaceX employee who started at the company as an intern and was then hired not long after she finished college before she ended things, according to a report.
Musk, who has a fortune valued by Bloomberg Billionaires Index at $198 billion as of Wednesday, also pursued relationships with other female subordinates at his rocket company, including with one woman who was asked by the mogul to bear his children, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
The mogul also carried on a month-long sexual relationship with a third woman who reported to him directly at SpaceX before the two cut ties, according to the report.
The third woman and Musk were involved romantically after she was accused of having an affair with the husband of another SpaceX executive, it was reported.
The Post has sought comment from SpaceX and Musk.
Musk first met the then-intern in the early 2010s when she was a college student studying engineering.
According to the Journal, Musk and the woman went out for a meal after she sent him ideas about how to improve the company.
Musk and the woman kissed after the two bonded over their love of “Star Wars,” according to the report.
A year later, Musk arranged for the woman to be flown to a resort in Sicily where the two met, the Journal claimed. Musk was in Sicily attending a conference sponsored by Google.
The woman’s passport was in another city, so Musk made arrangements for a friend of the woman to bring it to her on an early morning domestic flight, according to the Journal.
The woman was then booked for a first-class flight to London and then a private jet to Italy, it was reported.
In 2017, Musk offered the woman a role on his executive staff.
Former SpaceX staffers thought it was odd that someone so young was offered a high-profile position close to the boss, according to the report.
After she moved to Los Angeles from New York, the woman accepted an invitation from Musk for drinks.
Her friends told the Journal that Musk came on to her and touched her breast.
One of her friends said the woman recalled Musk telling her: “Oh, I’m so bad. I shouldn’t be doing this.”
“Elon tried to rekindle our relationship prior to my employment, and I rejected the advance. While there was some initial awkwardness, it was nothing out of the ordinary after a rejection,” the woman said in a sworn affidavit provided to the Journal by a law firm which also represents Musk and Tesla.
According to the Journal, the woman, who denied ever having a “romantic relationship” with Musk, said she was unhappy at SpaceX because she had no authority and that she also had trouble getting other executives to take her ideas seriously.
The situation got so bad that on several occasions she would hide in the bathroom on company grounds, the Journal reported.
In the affidavit provided to the Journal, the woman said that her feelings about the job at SpaceX “were completely unrelated to any romantic or personal interactions with Elon Musk.”
“I came into a very difficult role as a newcomer into an established company,” she said in the affidavit.
As she struggled to establish herself in the company, she would visit Musk at his home after the boss frequently texted her, according to a friend.
“Come by!” Musk would text her. When she didn’t respond, he would continue texting.
“Look, it’s either me or 6am [exercise] :)” he wrote on one occasion.
On another occasion, Musk texted: “Just finished the Model 3 production call. It’s def going to be hell for several more months.”
“Are you coming over? If not, I will probably tranq out. Too stressed to sleep naturally,” Musk wrote to her.
When Musk’s texts went unanswered, he wrote: “Probably best if we don’t see each other.”
The next morning, the woman texted back to him, writing: “Oh man. I’m sorry, I’d already fallen asleep. I’ve been a late night person most of my life but have been trying to switch over because it seems responsible. Tbh. Sorry I crashed last night.”
Later that same day, the girl confided in a friend that she had “mild [social] anxiety resulting from imposter syndrome” which “definitely makes this job harder.”
“And that’s definitely exacerbated by Elon’s behavior,” her friend responded. The woman replied: “So badly.”
She said Musk displayed a lack of interest in her job, which made it more difficult, according to the Journal.
The awkwardness with Musk eventually led her to leave Musk’s executive staff. She was reassigned to another role in which she reported to another engineer, according to the Journal.
In 2019, when her manager was part of mass layoffs, she left the company.
In 2013, a woman who worked at SpaceX left the company and then reappeared with a lawyer.
She alleged that Musk had asked her on several occasions to have his babies, according to the Journal.
Musk, the father of 10 children including twins that he shared with another SpaceX employee, Shivon Zilis, has often spoke about the need to boost birth rates in order to save the human population.
After the woman declined Musk’s offer to have his children, the relationship between the two deteriorated, according to the Journal.
Musk would often complain about her job performance. He also reportedly denied her a raise.
The woman eventually left the company with an exit package work more than $1 million in stock and cash, the Journal reported.
A year later, Musk began a sexual relationship with another woman who would often spend 17-hour days working alongside the boss.
Before the relationship with Musk, Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s presient and chief operating officer, accused her of having an affair with her husband. She denied the allegation.
The woman alleged that when she went to human resources with Shotwell’s allegation, Shotwell retaliated against her by trying to get her removed from her position.
People close to the woman told the Journal that while Shotwell was working to get her fired, Musk brought her closer to him.
The relationship began while Musk was in the middle of divorce talks with British actress Talulah Riley.
But it ended weeks later when she confided in friends that she felt used and that Musk had no desire to be seen in public with her.
She left the company and was forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement. In exchange, she was reportedly paid $85,000 for unpaid work that she did earlier for Tesla.
“The untruths, mischaracterizations, and revisionist history in your email paint a completely misleading narrative,” Shotwell told the Journal.
“I continue to be amazed by what this extraordinary group of people are achieving every day even amidst all the forces acting against us. And Elon is one of the best humans I know.”
In 2022, a SpaceX flight attendant accused Musk of exposing himself to her aboard one of his private jets in 2016.
The woman was later paid $250,000 to settle the claim.
News of the allegation and the subsequent settlement was first reported by Business Insider.