Elon Musk Wins Defamation Case Against Cave Rescuer
A US jury in California has found that tech billionaire Elon Musk did not defame a cave rescuer in Thailand who he called a “pedo guy” in a tweet.
The feud between the two started when a volunteer cave diver called Musk’s mini-submarine proposal to save a trapped boys soccer team stuck in a flooded cave a stupid idea and a publicity stunt.
Musk responded in a barrage of tweets, eventually calling the man a “pedo guy” and laying down other accusations that appeared to be way off-base.
The British diving expert, Vernon Unsworth, said his reputation had been damaged by Musk because of the false statements. He was seeking $190 million in damages.
Just recently, Musk had tried to have the trial dismissed but judges ruled that he must face his day in court over the statements he made regarding Unsworth.
The trial, which took place in Los Angeles, only lasted four days until the jury was able to come to a unanimous decision clearing Musk of the charges.
Musk’s defense made the claim in court that Musk’s “pedo guy” statement was nothing more than what they coined as a “JDart”.
A JDart is described by Musk’s legal team as Joke that was poorly received, which was then Deleted and followed by an Apology and then Responsive Tweets to move past the matter.
Musk claims that his “pedo” statement was a joke not intended to take literally and stated that it was a common saying in South Africa.
At different times in the spat, however, Musk appeared to double and triple down on his accusation, which makes it surprising that the jury accepted his rationale.
Musk also allegedly hired a private investigator to find dirt on Unsworth’s life in Thailand, where he split time living.
“It feels very raw. I feel humiliated. Ashamed. Dirtied”, Unsworth said. “Effectively, from day one, I was given a life sentence without parole. It hurts to talk about it”
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