Elon Musk’s net worth plummeted by $10 billion in a single day after claims of sexual misconduct against him emerged earlier this month.
It was reported days ago that Musk-founded aerospace firm SpaceX paid $250,000 to a flight attendant in 2018 to settle a sexual misconduct claim against Musk, who is the world’s wealthiest man.
Musk was worth approximately $212 billion on Thursday morning, 19 May, but by that evening his wealth had dropped to around $201 billion.
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The colossal reduction was reported by Insider, which pointed to figures on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The outlet notes that despite Musk owning 47% of SpaceX – which last week was valued at an eye-watering $125 billion – the stocks of electric car company Tesla, of which Musk is CEO, have more impact on his wealth.
When Insider first reported on the allegations facing Musk last week, Tesla's share price tanked 6.4 percent.
A flight attendant reportedly 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.
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Musk was quick to refute the allegations on social media, tweeting: “For the record, those wild accusations are utterly untrue."
He also told Insider the story was a ‘politically motivated hit piece’ when the outlet approached him for comment.
Musk wrote: "If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light."
In the unnamed flight attendant’s declaration, which was signed by a friend, she alleged Musk asked her to come to his room during a flight in 2016 for a ‘full body massage’.
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She arrived to find Musk ‘completely naked except for a sheet covering the lower half of his body’ and said that during a massage he ‘exposed his genitals’ and ‘touched her and offered to buy her a horse if she would 'do more'.'
SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell promised the company would ‘rigorously investigate all harassment or discrimination claims’.
UNILAD has reached out to Musk's representatives for comment.
On Friday, 20 May, Musk seemingly made light of the situation when he sent YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley a tweet that read: “Hi Chad! Fine, if you touch my wiener, you can have a horse.”
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Hurley had tweeted Musk saying: “Hey, @elonmusk! Stop horsing around and close this Twitter deal. We all want a happy ending!”
Musk is famously intending to buy Twitter at some point in the near future.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivor’s Trust for free on 08088 010 818, or through their website thesurvivorstrust.org
Topics: Elon Musk, Technology, SpaceX, Tesla
Aisha Nozari