Earlier this week, Elon Musk announced to the world that he was choosing to identify as a Republican and that he would vote for Republicans moving forward. This surprised exactly no one, nor did Musk’s claims that Democrats are going to unleash a “dirty tricks campaign” against him and that “Political attacks on me will escalate dramatically in coming months.”
In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 18, 2022
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 … 🍿
There were a lot of theories for why Musk might have made these declarations, totally unprovoked, and they were all obvious enough to not require any further speculation. Tesla had just been dropped from the S&P’s list of “socially conscious” companies (the ESG) due to its “lack of a low-carbon strategy” as well as all the lawsuits and complaints over racist and otherwise unacceptable working conditions. With Musk’s takeover of Twitter (possibly) moving ahead, he might also be looking to fend off legitimate attempts at government oversight by casting them as “political attacks.” Musk, a known union-buster, has also accused the Democratic party of being “overly controlled by unions.”
As it turns out, the real reason for Musk’s unprompted declarations of Republican allegiance and “dirty tricks” seems to be even more obvious than all of that: He’s a giant creep. (Allegedly.)
According to a report From Business Insider released Thursday, SpaceX allegedly paid a flight attendant $250,000 to keep quiet after she says Musk exposed himself to her and otherwise sexually harassed her in 2016.
“The attendant worked as a member of the cabin crew on a contract basis for SpaceX’s corporate jet fleet,” the report reads. “She 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, according to interviews and documents obtained by Insider.”
The report goes on to say:
According to the declaration, the attendant confided to the friend that after taking the flight attendant job, she was encouraged to get licensed as a masseuse so that she could give Musk massages. It was during one such massage in a private cabin on Musk’s Gulfstream G650ER, she told the friend, that Musk propositioned her.
I cannot get over the excessively gross (and therefore right on brand for Musk) fact that this man expects his flight attendants to also act as his personal masseuse.
The report continues:
The attendant’s complaint was resolved quickly after a session with a mediator that Musk personally attended. The matter never reached a court of law or an arbitration proceeding. In November 2018, Musk, SpaceX and the flight attendant entered into a severance agreement granting the attendant a $250,000 payment in exchange for a promise not to sue over the claims.
The timing of Musk’s declarations of Republicanhood just happen to align perfectly with when Business Insider says they reached out for comment for the impending article. What a fascinating coincidence.
This from a great editor at the Insider re timing of them seeking comment …https://t.co/cMVIM55luA and note time stamp pic.twitter.com/KHxaDqsXxA
— Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) May 19, 2022
Crazy coincidence that this dork spent an entire day panic tweeting that everyone was out to get him riiiiiiight before the release of a story about how he paid hush money to a woman he exposed his dick to https://t.co/02pYH5AIOy
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) May 19, 2022
The only thing less surprising than Elon Musk declaring he’s a Republican is knowing that he made that declaration as a way to fight credible allegations of sexual predation.
(image: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
