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SpaceX whistleblowers allege widespread sexual harassment
On the heels of a similar report on Blue Origin, five whistleblowers in two different exposes from Lioness and The Verge allege that SpaceX effectively fosters a work environment that is extremely hostile and unresponsive to women.
Above all else, all five former employees describe experiencing sexual harassment, inept responses from human resources (HR), and varying degrees of retaliation after attempting to pursue a fair corporate response. Ashley Kosack, a Rochester Institute of Technology Dean’s List graduate of mechanical engineering and a former SpaceX mission integration engineer and intern with almost four years of experience at the company between January 2017 and November 2021, is at the center of both reports.
This weekend, Gwynne Shotwell sent an email to employees ahead of the essay's publication reminding people of SpaceX's "no A-hole" policy and that the company would do an internal and third-party audit of its HR practices: "We also know we can always do better."
— Loren Grush (@lorengrush) December 14, 2021
First, it’s crucial to note that while several recent Blue Origin exposes alleged rampant sexual harassment and major internal issues that threatened the safety of its projects and of the space tourists that fly on its rockets, none of the whistleblowers attempting to hold SpaceX accountable for its poor treatment of women employees raised concerns about the company’s approach to safety. Nevertheless, Ashley Kosack, Julia CrowleyFarenga, and three other anonymous employees raise allegations that should still be taken seriously.
Above all else, the five describe an environment where women and nonbinary employees are regularly harassed by their male colleagues (ranging from fellow interns and entry-level engineers to managers and senior technicians), whose behavior is then effectively ignored or swept under the rug by SpaceX’s human resources department. In some cases, not only did HR fail to rectify the situation in any way, but they apparently made harassers aware of the allegation and the person alleging harassment. Some were then harassed more and retaliated against, often leading to severe stress and sometimes causing the harassed employees to quit outright.
In two particularly egregious examples, Kosack discovered that SpaceX – an almost two-decade-old company – apparently has no official HR system or mechanism in place to ensure that employees who harass other employees are not only punished accordingly, but at all. It’s difficult to assume anything good about the work culture of a company that explicitly refuses to ensure that sexual harassers face predictable repercussions for their actions. Later, when attempting to take advantage of SpaceX and COO Gwynne Shotwell’s often-advertised “Ethics and Compliance tip line,” Kosack discovered that the tip line wasn’t actually anonymous – making a farce of a tool theoretically meant to make internal whistleblowers feel comfortable enough to speak up.
One source that spoke to Teslarati revealed that that was also the case years ago and has even resulted in at least one employee being fired in retaliation for attempting to raise what they believed were real safety concerns. Shotwell, among others, reportedly receives all content submitted via the tip line. However, SpaceX has achieved an incredible record of success over the last five years, successfully completing more than 100 Falcon launches in a row. SpaceX, with NASA oversight, has also completed five crewed launches since May 2020, successfully launching 18 people in less than a year and half. If there are or were major safety concerns about how SpaceX was building, testing, or flying its Falcon rockets and Dragon spacecraft, that evidence suggests that the company is able to effectively deal with them.
All five whistleblowers still agreed that SpaceX is managing those feats despite consistently treating its workforce like an expendable resource – especially in the case of nonbinary and women employees. Even for men at SpaceX, it’s incredibly rare for employees to last more than five years – which, at least a few years ago, happens to be when accrued equity vests. As long as that remains the case and as long as employees feel like they’re hopeless in the face of egregious harassment, it’s hard to imagine that those retention issues will ever change or that SpaceX’s poor workforce diversity will ever significantly improve.
SpaceX announced today that it would expand its launch capabilities into a new U.S. state: Louisiana.
Today, SpaceX, in conjunction with the Louisiana Economic Development Office, said that it will establish a new launch facility, which it will call Starbase, Louisiana. It will be located near Vermilion Parish, supporting thousands of launches each year, at least eventually.
CEO Elon Musk commented by stating, “Starbase Louisiana will ultimately have over a dozen launch towers, enabling more than 30 Starship flights per day and making it the biggest launch site on Earth!”
Starbase Louisiana will ultimately have over a dozen launch towers, enabling more than 30 Starship flights per day and making it the biggest launch site on Earth!
SpaceX makes sci-fi real. https://t.co/C7Ht0U12ba
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 25, 2026
The expansion is SpaceX’s latest move to push its launch cadence to be more frequent than ever. SpaceX said that Starbase, Louisiana, will be built to “support thousands of Starship flights a year,” with the first coming in 2029.
SpaceX announced the new facility in partnership with the Louisiana Economic Development Office as it will bring a major influx of jobs and investments into the area. Currently, it will produce more than 3,000 new jobs in Louisiana, and SpaceX plans to invest at least $100 billion into the entire facility, ensuring that many jobs are created as a result.
Environmental Responsibility
SpaceX acknowledges the impact launches could have on marshlands, local wildlife, and water sources. Here’s how the company plans to help with the issues in Vermilion Parish:
- Restoring the Shoreline: “In Vermilion Parish, the shoreline is eroding between 3.3 and 23 feet per year. We’re partnering with state and federal agencies to expand Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan and Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act projects, including Gulf shoreline protection breakwaters designed to reduce wave energy and slow loss along the Gulf edge.”
- Rebuilding the Marshlands: “In working with the state, we’re planning thousands of acres of marsh creation using beneficial-use placement of dredged material and offshore sediment sources. Restoration will also include interior marsh bank stabilization and rebuilding marsh in remnant canals. These projects can reconnect fragmented wetlands, restore natural buffers against storms, and return habitat that has been lost to erosion and historic canalization.”
- Preserving Coastal Wildlife: “Pecan Island and nearby wetlands are high-value habitat for migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, and other coastal wildlife. SpaceX is not developing the full footprint of the land and will preserve wetlands and wildlife habitat. At existing launch sites, waterfowl and other birds continue to use nearby habitat during operations. Working with wildlife agencies, landowners, and conservation groups, SpaceX will support monitoring and management so this habitat stays productive and hunting, fishing, birding, and other recreational activities that are part of this coast’s culture can continue.”
SpaceX shares rose about 2.5 percent on the news.
Tesla Cybertruck trims saw a big price change, at least on two of the three available to consumers, as demand for the all-electric pickup appears to be increasing.
Tesla bumped up its Base All-Wheel-Drive trim level up to $74,990 from $69,990 and the Premium All-Wheel-Drive configuration from $79,990 to $84,990. The Cyberbeast price remains unchanged at $99,990.
🚨 Cybertruck prices went up as Tesla bumped them 7%
TESLARATI Premium Membership
$19.99 USD– Tesla Cybertruck AWD is now $74,990
– Tesla Cybertruck Premium AWD now $84,990
– Tesla Cyberbeast now $99,990 https://t.co/MYJbaw56GL— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 25, 2026
Despite questions of demand for the truck, Tesla is bumping its two least expensive trims up $5,000 to signal that there are plenty of buyers. Although SpaceX has been buying Tesla Cybertruck units to utilize as company vehicles, it is no secret that the Cybertruck is among the most sought-after Tesla models out there.
The issue has always been pricing, at least for the most part. When Tesla initially launched the Cybertruck AWD at $59,990 a few months back, the company stated that price would remain intact for just ten days due to the influx of orders it received.
Cybertruck Sales: Is It the Product or Pricing?
Depending on who you ask, you will likely hear one of two explanations for relatively low Cybertruck sales: either the product itself or the pricing.
Yes, this is the best-selling all-electric pickup on the market. However, there are people who simply hate the look of it, which I understand, but do not agree with. Look is totally subjective, and I love the look of the Cybertruck.
Some people will not buy the Cybertruck because of the look, but I am under the impression that sales would be much better if this truck were priced lower; something that might not be possible considering Tesla’s need to make money on its products. When it was unveiled in 2019, its most expensive trim level was $69,990. Now, the cheapest trim level is more expensive than that.
I would be in a Cybertruck if it were more affordable. I LOVE my Model Y, but Cybertruck is the best vehicle Tesla makes, and it’s not particularly close. Even in the base model, the steer-by-wire, the space, storage, and performance make it more desirable than the Model Y to me. I cannot be the only Tesla owner without a Cybertruck who feels this way.
If you’re interested in buying a Tesla vehicle, use my referral link.
Energy
Tesla Semi factory is getting a celebration nobody expected
Tesla will inaugurate its Nevada Semi factory September 24, five months after production quietly began ramping.
Tesla says it will officially inaugurate its new Semi factory in Nevada next month. The Tesla Semi account posted the announcement on X, sharing a graphic titled “Semi Rollout” with a date of September 24. No further details were given about the format of the event or who would attend.
While Tesla’s dedicated Semi plant in Sparks, adjacent to Gigafactory Nevada, opened back in April, with the first trucks rolling off the high volume line on April 29, the timing for the factory inauguration comes at a surprise. The ribbon cutting event five months into production is a break from how Tesla has usually handled its other factories, where the first truck or car off the line typically served as the milestone moment.
Inauguration of new Semi factory in Nevada next month pic.twitter.com/a8kAlxrOOn
— Tesla Semi (@tesla_semi) August 24, 2026
The 1.7 million square foot factory was built as part of a $3.6 billion expansion Tesla announced in early 2023, and it shares a site with the battery cell lines that feed the Semi’s structural pack, a decision meant to remove the supply bottleneck that delayed the truck for years. The plant is designed for 50,000 trucks a year at full ramp. Semi program director Dan Priestley has said production “is now ramping” rather than claiming it has reached scale.
Nine years passed between the Semi’s 2017 unveiling and this stage of production, with the truck slipping from an original 2019 target through hand built pilot units for PepsiCo and a slow build out of the Nevada plant. An inauguration event now gives Tesla a stage to talk up that ramp and reset expectations for how many trucks it can begin delivering at scale.
The September date also lines up with the Semi’s next milestone. Tesla confirmed the truck is heading to Europe with a full unveiling at the IAA Transportation trade show in Hannover, Germany, running September 15 through 20. Between the Nevada event and the Hannover reveal, Tesla has roughly a week and a half in September to make the case that the Semi is now a truck being built and sold on two continents rather than tested in a handful of fleets.
SpaceX announces new Starbase for ‘thousands of Starship launches annually’
Tesla just made Cybertruck more expensive
