Elon Musk Loses $10 Billion In A Day After Alleged Sexual Misconduct Surfaces

Joaquin Victor Tacla, Tech Times 23 May 2022, 10:05 pm

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO just lost $10 billion in a single day after allegations of sexual misconduct against him surfaced.

(Photo : Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 02: Elon Musk attends The 2022 Met Gala Celebrating "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 02, 2022 in New York City.

"Elongate" Scandal

Elon Musk was worth about $212 billion on Thursday, based on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. But after news of the sexual harassment allegations against him broke out on Thursday, the index indicated that his value evaporated to around $201 billion,

The news came from Insider's report, which claimed that SpaceX, the aerospace company headed by Musk, paid a flight attendant $250,000 as a settlement for a sexual misconduct claim against the billionaire in 2018.

However, Musk has denied the accusations, saying that they are "utterly untrue" and that "it never happened."

The report detailed the $250,000 settlement how a SpaceX flight attendant alleged that Musk exposed his private genitalia to her in 2016 after giving him a massage and propositioned her to have sex by saying "do more" and that if she accepted it, he would buy her a horse.

Musk even joked about this claim by saying that the "Elongate" scandal has started. He also said on Twitter that Tesla is creating a "hardcore litigation department" that will report directly to him.

In total, Tesla faced a rough week as the company's shares have been falling down since investors were concerned that Musk's attention is too divided between various companies. They also worry how he is going to manage a rapidly decreasing $44 billion acquisition deal for Twitter.

The past week has also put the billionaire in hot water after calling the S&P 500's environmental, social, and government rating (ESG) as "a scam." He also announced that he will be voting for Republicans and called the Democrats a "party of division and hate."

"There Will Be Blood"

The billionaire told Insider in a statement that the report was a "politically motivated hit piece" and that the story had something more behind it.

In a Twitter thread, Musk said that the attacks against him "should be viewed through a political lens."

"This is their standard (despicable) playbook - but nothing will deter me from fighting for a good future and your right to free speech."

The Tesla and SpaceX exec also clarified that the "wild accusations" are completely false.

He even challenges the person who saw him exposed, telling her to describe at least one physical characteristic of Musk such as scars or tattoos that isn't known by the public. He claimed that she will never identify one "because it never happened."

He also said that "there will be blood" in a series of tweets regarding Tesla's litigation department.

But the so-called Elongate scandal does not stop there. A new documentary from the New York Times on Tesla's autopilot was released on Friday, the title "Elon Musk's Crash Course" features how Musk has responded to accidents that happened with his carmaker's Autopilot system.

This year alone, the Billionaires Index indicates that Musk has lost more than $69 billion. In Particular, he has lost $49 billion ever since he announced his plans to take over Twitter, which is currently on hold.

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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla