Elon Musk denies sexual harassment claims

 (CNN) — Elon Musk denied allegations that he sexually harassed a SpaceX flight attendant in 2016 in a series of late-night tweets.

“I have a challenge to this liar who claims their friend saw me ‘exposed’ — describe just one thing, anything at all (scars, tattoos, …) that isn’t known by the public. She won’t be able to do so, because it never happened,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO tweeted early Friday morning.

The tweet comes after Business Insider reported that SpaceX paid a $250,000 settlement in 2018 after a SpaceX flight attendant alleged sexual misconduct against the billionaire.

Citing documents and interviews it conducted, Insider reported that “the attendant worked as a member of the cabin crew on a contract basis for SpaceX’s corporate jet fleet. She accused Musk of exposing his erect penis to her, rubbing her leg without consent, and offering to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage.”

In his request to Insider for more time to respond to the allegations, Musk said there was “a lot more to this story.”

“If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light,” he told Business Insider. The outlet also said Musk characterized the story as a “politically motivated hit piece.”

In separate tweets, Musk later denied that he responded to Business Insider.

“Did you actually respond to the reporters from BI?” one user tweeted at Musk.

“No,” Musk responded, “it was clear that their only goal was a hit price (sic) to interfere with the Twitter acquisition. The story was written before they even talked to me.”

The Business Insider article states that it “extended the deadline and reiterated the offer to Musk to comment on the claims. He did not respond.”

SpaceX did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Business Insider’s report comes as Musk works to acquire Twitter — a deal he recently put “on hold.”