Since its details were announced, the global media in general, and the technical in particular, has been preoccupied with the details of the huge deal announced by the American billionaire Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, and the founder of the two technology companies, “SpaceX” and “Tesla”, that he finally approved his offer of acquisition of the platform Twitter for social media for $44 billion.

During that period, Musk spent a long time publishing his tweets about his vision of the new Twitter under his administration, some of the problems that the platform suffers from, and also his intention to return it to an "area of ​​freedom of expression."

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However, with Musk's apparent euphoria in his tweets and the tone of victory emanating from his words, the unexpected happened, at his most sensitive time.

Elon Musk is back in the forefront of the global media again, not in the image of a genius billionaire bargain hunter, but in the image of a sexual harasser this time, so what's the story?

 Molestation on the plane

Reports say that Musk's "SpaceX" company paid a $250,000 settlement to the air hostess, in exchange for not disclosing Musk's case of harassment in 2016 - the media.

On May 19, the Business Insider media platform, which specializes in business and financial journalism, launched a long and exclusive report revealing an incident of harassment of a flight attendant working on Elon Musk's private plane, during a 2016 flight between America and Britain. The report showed that Musk tried to sexually harass her while she was doing her job.

The incident, which was reported by Business Insider through a legal testimony by the friend of this hostess, stated that during Musk's flight in his private "Gulfstream" plane owned by "Gatefleet" - the commercial partner of "SpaceX" - which was bound for London, The air hostess entered the cabin of Mask, and he was sitting in it half-naked, and he asked her to give him a massage.

The legal testimony stated that the hostess did not respond, which made Musk go on the joke, saying - according to the Insider report "- that he would buy her a horse if she did more than a massage session.

The novel says that when the hostess refused Musk's temptations, she was surprised that the company had issued a decision to reduce her hours of service, which affected her wages.

Later, the air hostess resorted to hiring a lawyer in California, who sent a complaint detailing the incident to the management of "SpaceX", which made the company "settle the crisis" itself without the need to go to court.

According to the testimony, several settlement sessions were held, one of which was attended by Musk himself, and in November 2018 it was agreed to give the air hostess an amount of $250,000, in exchange for signing a binding non-disclosure agreement (NDA), and not to file a legal request with the judiciary regarding this incident. .

So Business Insider says all this information was from this air hostess' friend in her legal testimony, not the flight attendant herself who kept silent and was not named.

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Consequences of the crisis

Since the accusations of sexual harassment of the most controversial American billionaire in recent years, at the age of fifty, were announced, things are escalating rapidly.

Days after the news spread in the global media, the shares of the “Tesla” electric car company fell by about 7%, with the company’s share losing about $50 of its value to settle at an average of $660 compared to $710 before the crisis.

This significant decline in Tesla shares directly affected the wealth of Musk, who is considered the richest man in the world, as his wealth fell for the first time in almost a year to less than 200 billion dollars, recording about 192 billion, which is the lowest level of Musk's wealth since August 2021. However, Musk remains at the forefront of the world's richest people, far behind Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, who has a fortune of $ 127 billion.

According to “Bloomberg”, Musk’s fortune was stable on Thursday, May 19, at $ 212 billion, and one day after the report was published, Musk lost $10 billion in one go, then he continued to lose more of his wealth to lose, after one week, about $ 20 billion.

Forbes attributed the significant decline in Tesla shares, which is considered the largest over the past year, to what it called the “Twitter Circus” that Musk established during the past days, whether with regard to his acquisition of the social media platform and the problems arising therefrom, or his tweets that he defends. He defended himself against the harassment incident, which led to the loss of investor confidence and anxiety, which led to the decline in the value of "Tesla".

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mask reaction

From the moment the press report accusing Elon Musk of harassing the air hostess was published, Musk did not hesitate to launch a violent attack by making a series of statements, denying himself this accusation, and vowing to take legal action against these accusations, describing them as "nonsense that has nothing to do with the truth." ".

Musk, who launched a large number of tweets on his favorite Twitter platform, said that if he tends to engage in sexual harassment activities, it is unreasonable that this is the first time in his career that spanned 30 years, wondering why a sexual harassment case appears to him in This exact time?

In another tweet, Musk launched a violent attack on the host’s friend, whose legal testimony was based on the press report, saying: “I challenge the liar who says that her friend has seen me naked to describe one thing on my body that the general public does not know, such as a tattoo, a mark, or any trace.” You won't be able to do that, because the whole thing didn't happen at all."

Musk explained that this "dirty" campaign - as he describes it - which is being run against him, is mainly caused by his continuous attempt to buy the Twitter platform, and his determination to turn the platform into an arena for freedom of expression, and that this campaign is also motivated by purely political motives after announcing his abandonment of his support for the American Democratic Party, His decision to vote for the Republican Party.

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There will be blood

 "I look forward to a violent street war, not just plain white-shoe lawyers like Perkins or Cooley who live on corruption. There will be blood!"

(Elon Musk after a report accusing him of sexual harassment)

Looking for hardcore streetfighters, not white-shoe lawyers like Perkins or Cooley who thrive on corruption.

There will be blood.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2022

One day after the "Business Insider" report was issued accusing him of sexual harassment of a flight attendant, Musk announced that his company, "Tesla" for electric cars, had launched a litigation department with very strict conditions, as the company would begin to file and pursue lawsuits and implement them directly, without the need to go to legal parties. and that the team will report directly to him, adding that the company is opening its doors to talented lawyers to join it, and he asked his Twitter followers to apply for the job.

Observers considered that Musk's statement was a sign of major judicial battles against those who accused him of harassment, and the beginning of expanded procedures to file defamation cases involving individuals and the media, which made some consider that it would represent a tool of intimidation that might prevent many media outlets from publishing more accusations against Musk, for fear From getting into legal fights with the world's richest man.

On the other hand, Nicholas Carlson, managing editor of "Business Insider", defended the position of the magazine and its press report, saying that "Business Insider" supports the report that was published through it, and that it has access to documents, interviews and reliable sources, which makes the report fully in line with work standards. professional.

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A real issue or a political blow?

"Attack on my person should be seen from a political perspective, this is their usual despicable way, but there is nothing that will prevent me from fighting for a good future and the right to freedom of expression."

(Elon Musk)

The attacks against me 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

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2022

The follower of Mask over the past years knows that he usually does not care much about politics except from some quick comments about important events, but what else is that Mask’s presence has always been associated with technology, money and the ambitious projects that he reveals, usually causing a great media frenzy.

But since the Twitter acquisition began to surface, the intensity of Musk's political tweets has increased significantly.

His first controversial statement, despite being known to be anti-American, was when he declared on Twitter that he would restore the account of former US President "Donald Trump", considering that Twitter was an arena for freedom of expression for all, and Trump had the right to restore his closed account for nearly two years.

This statement angered many anti-Trump, whose Twitter account was permanently closed after his long activity in making controversial statements on the platform, which were described by many in America and around the world as hostile and racist.

Later, a day before the sexual harassment report was released, Elon Musk stated clearly in one of his tweets that he had become hostile to the Democrats, would stop supporting them for good and would vote for the Republican Party: “In the past, I voted for the Democrats, because they were - often - the good party. "But now they are the party of divisions and hatred, so I can't go on voting for them and I'll vote Republican. Now, watch their dirty campaigns against me!"

In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party.

But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican.

Now, watch their dirty tricks campaign against me unfold … 🍿

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 18, 2022

Musk also mentioned that the host's friend, whose testimony was based on the sexual harassment report, is an extremist left-wing activist in Los Angeles, and carries extremist fundamentalist political tendencies, which makes the whole thing an attempt to blackmail him after he took explicit political positions against Democrats.

Not only did Musk show his pro-right political leanings in America, Elon Musk recently traveled to Brazil and conducted research with the Brazilian government, which is described as an extreme right-wing government represented by right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who is likened by some to Donald Trump in Brazil, and some considered this visit by Musk to Brazil. An attempt to break the global isolation experienced by the right-wing president of Brazil since Trump lost the US elections in 2020. (8)

In the end, although Musk has always been a controversial figure in dozens of positions and statements, it is clear that the “Twitter battle” in particular has intensified the attack on him with greater intensity than usual, especially with his direct statements in hostility to Democrats and siding with Republicans in the coming period, which will certainly represent An important victory for the Republican Party, which has been hidden from view over the past two years, with the defeat of Trump.

The question that the days will reveal remains: Was Musk really implicated in the sexual harassment scandal in 2016, or is it a warning blow from his political opponents so as not to go too far, especially when he is about to own one of the largest platforms for expression of opinion in the world?

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Sources:

1 - In the grip of Elon Musk, how did the owner of "Tesla" acquire Twitter?

2 – A SpaceX flight attendant said Elon Musk exposed himself and propositioned her for sex, documents show.

The company paid $250,000 for her silence.

3 – Elon Musk lost $10 billion in net worth in a single day after sexual misconduct claims emerged

4 - Elon Musk's Net Worth Drops Below $200 Billion Again as Tesla Stock Continues To Struggle 

5 -Tesla Stock Losses Top $575 Billion As 'Investor Patience Wears Thin' With Elon Musk's Twitter 'Circus Show'

6 - Elon Musk denies sexual misconduct claims

7 - Elon Musk denies claims he sexually harassed flight attendant in 2016

8 - Elon Musk says sexual harassment claims are from a 'far left activist/actress with political