Elon Musk's ex-wife claimed that the tech billionaire told her he was 'the alpha in this relationship' at their wedding.
Justine Musk married the Tesla and SpaceX CEO in 2000 and they divorced in 2008, sharing custody of their five sons.
The author subsequently penned an article for Marie Claire in 2010 in which she lifted the lid on their relationship.
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"There were warning signs," she wrote. "As we danced at our wedding reception, Elon told me, 'I am the alpha in this relationship'.
"I shrugged it off, just as I would later shrug off signing the postnuptial agreement, but as time went on, I learned that he was serious.
"He had grown up in the male-dominated culture of South Africa, and the will to compete and dominate that made him so successful in business did not magically shut off when he came home.
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"This, and the vast economic imbalance between us, meant that in the months following our wedding, a certain dynamic began to take hold.
"Elon's judgment overruled mine, and he was constantly remarking on the ways he found me lacking. 'I am your wife,' I told him repeatedly, 'not your employee'.
"'If you were my employee', he said just as often, 'I would fire you'."
The article has resurfaced more than 10 years on as Musk has been accused of sexual misconduct by a flight attendant contracted by SpaceX who worked on his private jet in 2016.
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A report by Business Insider said SpaceX paid the woman $250,000 (£198,823) in severance in 2018 in exchange for her agreeing not to file a lawsuit over her claim that Musk exposed his erect penis to her.
The report was based on an account by the flight attendant's friend, who said the flight attendant told her about the alleged incident shortly after it happened.
The article also said the flight attendant was required to sign a non-disclosure agreement that prohibits her from discussing the payment or anything else about Musk and SpaceX.
Musk, who is in the process of buying Twitter, used the platform to respond to the allegation.
"And, for the record, those wild accusations are utterly untrue," he wrote in response to one user who tweeted in support of him.
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He replied to another: "In my 30 year career, including the entire MeToo era, there's nothing to report, but, as soon as I say I intend to restore free speech to Twitter & vote Republican, suddenly there is…"