SpaceX paid an employee US$250,000 to settle a claim she was sexually harassed by Elon Musk in 2016, according to a report from Insider.

The closely held rocket launch company, of which Musk is founder and chief executive officer, made the payment in 2018 to an unidentified flight attendant who worked as a contract employee on a SpaceX corporate jet, the online news provider said, citing interviews and documents, including a declaration signed by a friend of the attendant and made in support of her claim.

In a late-night tweet responding to a follower, Musk said: “For the record, those wild accusations are utterly untrue.”

In an earlier tweet that didn’t directly refer to the Insider report, Musk said “the attacks against me should be viewed through a political lens” but that nothing will deter him from fighting for “your right to free speech”.

The attendant alleged that Musk exposed himself and propositioned her in a private room on the plane during a flight, according to the friend, the report said. Musk offered to buy the attendant a horse in exchange for an erotic massage, it said.

Representatives for Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

 - Bloomberg