About

SpaceX Flight Attendant Elon Musk Sexual Misconduct Claim, also known as Elongate, refers to a 2022 controversy involving Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk allegedly exposing his "erect penis" and offering sex to a flight attendant in 2016 following a massage. Musk then allegedly paid the woman $250,000 to keep quiet about the sexual misconduct, as well as reportedly offering her a horse. In general, the event is related to the MeToo Movement. News outlet Business Insider broke the story in May 2022, resulting in subsequent reactions and memes across social media.

History

On May 19th, 2022, Business Insider^[1] published an article that claimed in 2018 Elon Musk allegedly paid a former SpaceX flight attendant $250,000 to settle a sexual misconduct claim. The event allegedly took place in 2016 on a flight to London, England when an anonymous cabin crew member, a part of SpaceX's corporate jet fleet, was giving Musk a massage. According to Business Insider,^[1] this prompted Musk to expose his erect penis to her, rub her leg without consent and then offer to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage.

The account was given to Business Insider on behalf of an anonymous friend of the flight attendant. Insider claimed it was aware of the flight attendant's identity, but did not name her because she claimed to be a victim of sexual misconduct.

On May 19th, 2022, Business Insider then posted a tweet^[2] that included a link to its article, earning roughly 6,600 likes in three hours (shown below). A more viral tweet, however, was posted on the same day by Twitter^[3] user nichcarlson, who earned roughly 10,700 likes in three hours.

A day before the story broke, on May 18th, Musk posted a tweet^[4] reading, "Political attacks on me will escalate dramatically in coming months," which received roughly 615,700 likes in two days (shown below). Musk then posted another tweet^[5] on May 18th stating that he'd be voting Republican in the upcoming election cycle.

Later on May 18th, still before the Business Insider story, Twitter^[6] user maplecocaine posted screenshots of the aforementioned Musk tweets, captioning them, "There's a story coming out soon that he's trying to get ahead of. Hard to read this any other way," earning roughly 92,700 likes in two days (shown below, left). The next day, after the Insider story, some Twitter users circled back to Musk's May 18th tweets,^[4][5] as well as to maplecocaine's tweet,^[6] seeing them as supposed real-life foreshadowings. For instance, on May 19th, Twitter^[7] user EoinHiggins_ posted screenshots of maplecocaine's tweet^[6] and the Business Insider^[1] headline, captioning them, "He don't miss," and earning roughly 9,300 likes in one day (shown below, right).

Elongate

On May 19th, 2022, after the story broke, Elon Musk posted a tweet^[8] that acted as his first response to the scandal. It stated, "The attacks against me should be viewed through a political lens – this is their standard (despicable) playbook – but nothing will deter me from fighting for a good future and your right to free speech," earning roughly 372,200 likes and 49,800 retweets in eight hours (shown below, left). Roughly two hours later, on May 20th, Musk posted a quote retweet ^[9] of a March 2021 tweet^[10] of his that read, "If there’s ever a scandal about me, *please* call it Elongate," earning roughly 755,400 likes in 14 months. His May 20th, quote retweet^[10] stated, "Finally, we get to use Elongate as scandal name. It’s kinda perfect. 🤣," earning roughly 133,100 likes in six hours (shown below, right).

Elon Musk Denies Allegations

On May 20th, 2022, Elon Musk responded in a thread to Twitter^[15] user TaraBull808 after she voiced her support for him on May 19th. Musk essentially challenged the accuser to describe one thing about his naked body in a tweet that received roughly 20,300 likes in less than a day (shown below, left).

Humorous replies ensued, like a tweet posted by Twitter^[16] user quendergeer on May 20th that quote retweeted Musk's aforementioned tweet, stating, "oh you've been sexually harassed by me? name 5 fucked up things about my dick," and earning roughly 58,300 likes in less than a day (shown below, right).

Reactions

After the story broke on May 19th, many Twitter users posted their reactions to the sexual misconduct claim. For instance, on May 19th, Twitter^[11] user JoJoFromJerz posted about the breaking news, following the headline with, "I guess he really is a Republican," and earning roughly 49,800 likes in one day (shown below, left). Other Twitter users were supportive of Musk, like Twitter^[12] user MsBlaireWhite, who tweeted on May 19th about how "corporate media" was "playing a game," earning roughly 13,100 likes in one day (shown below, right).

Elongate Memes

Many memes about the event appeared online going into late May 2022. For instance, on May 19th, Twitter^[13] user EoinHiggins_ posted a Distracted Boyfriend meme referencing Ghislaine Maxwell, earning roughly 3,600 likes in less than a day (shown below, left). On May 19th, Twitter^[14] user BlackKnight10k posted a humorous tweet about the situation, earning roughly 1,400 likes in less than a day (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References