New York: Elon Musk announced to open a litigation department at Tesla to initiate and execute lawsuits, as the electric car-maker is facing lawsuits over rampant sexual harassment at the workplace.
In a tweet, Musk said: “Tesla is building a hardcore litigation department where we directly initiate & execute lawsuits. The team will report directly to me. Please send 3 to 5 bullet points describing evidence of exceptional ability at justice@tesla.com”.
The move came as more women filed separate lawsuits in December last year against electric car-maker in the US for rampant sexual harassment, as Musk was accused of tweeting “lewd comments about women’s bodies or a taunt toward employees who report misconduct”.
The women alleged that they were subject to a culture of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Musk on Friday refuted a media report that claimed SpaceX paid a female worker $250,000 to hush up sexual misconduct charges against its CEO, saying the report is meant to “interfere with” the $44 billion Twitter acquisition.
Musk said that while building the litigation department at Tesla, “we will never seek victory in a just case against us, even if we will probably win”.
“We will never surrender/settle an unjust case against us, even if we will probably lose. Please include links to cases you have tried,” he posted to his over 94 million followers.
Musk was dating Amber Heard and finalizing a divorce around the time he is said to have harassed the SpaceX flight attendant, Insider reported earlier. Heard is participating in a high-profile defamation trial against her former husband, Johnny Depp.
According to Insider’s investigation, SpaceX paid the flight attendant a $250,000 severance agreement in 2018 in exchange for a promise not to sue over the claims or discuss the payment, Musk, or his businesses.
