SpaceX—SpaceX fired 8 employees for open letter criticizing Elon Musk's public behavior
In June 2022, SpaceX fired employees who circulated an internal open letter calling Musk's online behavior 'a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment.' The NLRB filed a complaint in January 2024 alleging 37 labor law violations including intimidation, interrogation, surveillance of employees, and retaliation. SpaceX sued the NLRB claiming its structure was unconstitutional; the case was withdrawn in December 2024.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tech Worker Organizing | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Whistleblower Protection | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.664 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.59)
Evidence (1 signal)
NLRB filed complaint alleging SpaceX committed 37 labor law violations in employee firings
The National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against SpaceX in January 2024 alleging the company unfairly fired employees who criticized Elon Musk in a 2022 open letter. The complaint alleges intimidation, interrogation, surveillance, and retaliation against eight employees.