SpaceX Engineers Fired After Calling Out Elon Musk's Sexual Remarks Win Right to Sue Him in Open Court

Eight engineers fired by SpaceX after circulating a letter that criticised Elon Musk's sexually charged posts on Twitter, now X, have won the right to keep their lawsuit against him and the company in open court.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 on 10 November that the case cannot be pushed into private arbitration, where disputes are heard behind closed doors, despite the arbitration agreements all eight signed.

The panel held that a 2022 law, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA), overrides those contracts. Congress passed it after reports that firms were hiding sexual misconduct in confidential arbitration, the court noted.

How an Open Letter Cost Eight SpaceX Engineers Their Jobs

The dispute dates to June 2022, weeks after Business Insider reported that SpaceX had settled a flight attendant's sexual misconduct claim against Musk, an allegation he denied. The engineers' open letter called Musk's behaviour 'a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, particularly in recent weeks.' It urged executives to distance SpaceX from his posts and enforce its anti-harassment policy.

SpaceX fired four plaintiffs identified as authors the next day, citing their role in 'conceiving, writing, and distributing the Open Letter,' the appeals court said. Four more were dismissed within weeks after admitting they helped draft it.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell told staff in an email obtained by The New York Times that the letter had made employees 'feel uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied.'

The Musk Posts at the Heart of the SpaceX Lawsuit

The four women and four men sued in June 2024, accusing SpaceX and Musk of retaliation and wrongful termination under California law, and the company of sexual harassment and sex discrimination. They allege Musk 'personally ordered' the firings.

Their complaint cites posts including Musk's idea for a Texas university he would call 'TITS' and a 2022 reply to former YouTube boss Chad Hurley: 'if you touch my wiener, you can have a horse.' The engineers say such posts fed a 'pervasively sexist culture'.

SpaceX moved the case to federal court and sought arbitration, which US District Judge John A. Kronstadt refused in 2025.

Court Says SpaceX Workers Need Only Assert Harassment

SpaceX argued the engineers had to show harassment allegations strong enough to survive a motion to dismiss. Judge Michelle Friedland, joined by Judge Danielle Forrest, disagreed. Workers need only assert that conduct amounts to sexual harassment, she wrote, and firing someone for opposing it counts too.

'Ultimately, SpaceX's arguments reflect a preference for arbitration as a forum,' Friedland wrote, adding that Congress enacted the EFAA 'specifically to override that preference.'

Judge Eric Tung dissented, warning that the ruling lets a worker escape arbitration by saying 'the magic words'.

What Comes Next for the SpaceX Lawsuit

Anne Shaver, the engineers' lawyer, told Courthouse News Service the decision 'vindicates the right of our eight clients to proceed in open court on their sexual harassment claims against Musk and SpaceX.'

A parallel case ended in February, when the National Labor Relations Board dropped its 2024 complaint after the National Mediation Board claimed jurisdiction over SpaceX.

The engineers seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Their case returns to Judge Kronstadt, where SpaceX can still challenge the claims and none of the allegations have been tested. It was not immediately clear whether SpaceX would seek a rehearing.