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Elon Musk wins defamation trial over 'pedo guy' tweet
https://www.autonews.com/executives/elon-musk-wins-defamation-trial-over-pedo-guy-tweet
December 6, 2019
LOS ANGELES -- A U.S. District Court jury in Los Angeles on Friday found in favor of Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk in the defamation lawsuit brought against him by a British cave explorer who Musk had branded a "pedo guy" on Twitter.
The verdict was delivered on the fourth day of the trial a short time after the case was handed to the jury of five women and three men. The plaintiff, Vernon Unsworth, was seeking $190 million damages against Musk, who during the trial estimated his net worth at $20 billion.
Unsworth gained fame when he helped coordinate the rescue of a boys' soccer team and its coach from a flooded Thailand cave, which was completed successfully on July 10, 2018.
Three days later, Unsworth gave an interview on CNN where he criticized Musk's offer of a mini-submarine to help with the rescue as a "PR stunt" and that Musk could "stick his submarine where it hurts."
Two days later, on July 15, 2018, Musk fired off the three tweets underlying the lawsuit, questioning Unsworth's role in the rescue and calling him "pedo guy," with no evidence.
In his own testimony, the 48-year-old Musk called the tweets an "off the cuff" response to viewing a replay of the interview.
He said it was perhaps borne of fatigue from spending 80 to 100 hours a week running Tesla, which makes electric cars, and SpaceX, the rocket company where the mini-submarine would have come from.
Unsworth, 64, testified on Thursday that his own insult was "not to Mr. Musk personally" and declined to apologize.
"I'm not sure how I need to apologize. It was my opinion at the time and I stand by that opinion," Unsworth said when cross-examined by one of Musk's lawyers.
https://www.autonews.com/executives/elon-musk-wins-defamation-trial-over-pedo-guy-tweet
December 6, 2019
LOS ANGELES -- A U.S. District Court jury in Los Angeles on Friday found in favor of Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk in the defamation lawsuit brought against him by a British cave explorer who Musk had branded a "pedo guy" on Twitter.
The verdict was delivered on the fourth day of the trial a short time after the case was handed to the jury of five women and three men. The plaintiff, Vernon Unsworth, was seeking $190 million damages against Musk, who during the trial estimated his net worth at $20 billion.
Unsworth gained fame when he helped coordinate the rescue of a boys' soccer team and its coach from a flooded Thailand cave, which was completed successfully on July 10, 2018.
Three days later, Unsworth gave an interview on CNN where he criticized Musk's offer of a mini-submarine to help with the rescue as a "PR stunt" and that Musk could "stick his submarine where it hurts."
Two days later, on July 15, 2018, Musk fired off the three tweets underlying the lawsuit, questioning Unsworth's role in the rescue and calling him "pedo guy," with no evidence.
In his own testimony, the 48-year-old Musk called the tweets an "off the cuff" response to viewing a replay of the interview.
He said it was perhaps borne of fatigue from spending 80 to 100 hours a week running Tesla, which makes electric cars, and SpaceX, the rocket company where the mini-submarine would have come from.
Unsworth, 64, testified on Thursday that his own insult was "not to Mr. Musk personally" and declined to apologize.
"I'm not sure how I need to apologize. It was my opinion at the time and I stand by that opinion," Unsworth said when cross-examined by one of Musk's lawyers.
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