Elon Musk VC Backer Investigated for Sexual Misconduct

$TSLA

The venture capital firm, Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), known for backing serial entrepreneur Elon Musk’s ventures, said it is investigating founding partner Steve Jurvetson for misconduct.

The firm engaged a law firm this past Summer after hearing indirectly of serious sexual misconduct allegations about Mr. Jurvetson, said Carol Wentworth, a spokeswoman for DFJ.

The process is ongoing, and the firm has not received a formal report of claims against Mr. Jurvetson or other investors, she said.

MJurvetson sits on the board of both Tesla Inc.  (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (a private company), aka SpaceX, and is a close friend of Mr. Musk. He was also an early backer of Hotmail, which Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) acquired during the .com boom.

Technology website the Information reported the investigation early Tuesday.

 VCs and other Silicon Valley executives have come under fire in recent months from harassment allegations.

Claims against Justin Caldbeck, a founding partner at Binary Capital, have thrown that firm’s future into question, and 500 Startups co-founder Dave McClure resigned after female entrepreneurs alleged that he made unwanted advances.

The controversy has spilled over into Hollywood, with the ouster of producer Harvey Weinstein and Amazon.com Inc. studio executive Roy Price.

Keri Kukral, a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur, posted on her Facebook page Monday, saying, “Women approached by founding partners of Draper Fisher Jurvetson should be careful. Predatory behavior is rampant.”

In a comment on the post, she described the situation as “Grey, personal not professional” and “exploitative.” She did not name any individuals.

Stay tuned…

  AMZN, backer, director, misconduct, MSFT, Musk, sexual, SpaceX, Tesla, TSLA, VC

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Paul Ebeling

Paul A. Ebeling, polymath, excels in diverse fields of knowledge. Pattern Recognition Analyst in Equities, Commodities and Foreign Exchange and author of “The Red Roadmaster’s Technical Report” on the US Major Market Indices™, a highly regarded, weekly financial market letter, he is also a philosopher, issuing insights on a wide range of subjects to a following of over 250,000 cohorts. An international audience of opinion makers, business leaders, and global organizations recognizes Ebeling as an expert.

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