SpaceX Fires Employees Involved in Letter Critical of Musk, Company

Some employees at the company recently wrote a letter that called Mr. Musk’s public statements and behavior, particularly during the past several weeks, embarrassing and distracting. The letter asked SpaceX management to publicly separate the company from Mr. Musk’s personal brand, and to take steps to address what it said was a gap between SpaceX’s stated values and its current systems and company culture.

Ms. Shotwell said the effort distracted from SpaceX’s work, including coming satellite launches and the expected first attempt to fly its massive Starship rocket system into orbit. The letter upset many staffers, Ms. Shotwell said, saying they felt pressure to “sign onto something that did not reflect their views.”

“We have too much critical work to accomplish and no need for this kind of overreaching activism,” she said in the email.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., the formal name for SpaceX, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The New York Times earlier reported on Ms. Shotwell’s email.

It couldn’t be determined how many people signed onto the employee letter criticizing Mr. Musk. Privately held SpaceX has around 12,000 employees, Mr. Musk recently said.

In her email, Ms. Shotwell said SpaceX’s current leadership team is dedicated to ensuring the company has a great work environment; she criticized how those who participated in the letter used SpaceX resources.

“Blanketing thousands of people across the company with repeated unsolicited emails and asking them to sign letters and fill out unsponsored surveys during the work day is not acceptable,” she said.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at [email protected]