Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla Inc, was sued for defamation on Monday for falsely suggesting that a British caver who helped rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach from a Thailand cave in July was a pedophile and child rapist.
Vernon Unsworth, who lives north of London, sued over Musk’s July 15 tweet to more than 22 million followers referring to him as a “pedo guy,” a comment for which Musk later apologized.
He also claimed that Musk falsely called him a child rapist and sex trafficker in an Aug. 30 email to BuzzFeed News.
Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Musk and the company.
Unsworth is seeking at least $75,000 of compensatory damages plus unspecified punitive damages in his complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The Hertfordshire County resident said he also plans to file a second lawsuit with the High Court of London for reputational damage suffered in the United Kingdom.
“Elon Musk falsely accused Vernon Unsworth of being guilty of heinous crimes,” L. Lin Wood, a lawyer for Unsworth, said in a statement. “Musk’s influence and wealth cannot convert his lies into truth or protect him from accountability.”
The case adds to a slew of litigation against Musk, including over his running of Palo Alto, California-based Tesla.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-musk-lawsuit/teslas-musk-is-sued-for-calling-thai-cave-rescuer-pedophile-idUSKCN1LX26N
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Truthseeker3000 ago
Did u guys watch Musk on Joe Rogans podcast? Odd guy but tries to come off as normal. He was hiding a lot of truth and not fully answering the questions freely. For someone with whom the media claims is off the rails on drug binges, he hardly took the toke and didn’t seem to know how which was really odd. The media is against him for some reason and this is the interesting part, he’s obviously done something against the plan. He also doesn’t drive his own Tesla cars, vintage Jaguar gas powered vehicle and private jets, so much for Global Warming Climate Change. He’s pushing the future and space bullshit. Who cares no one wants to live in space or go there. He also has secrets built into the cars he designs at Tesla which is disturbing. U push a secret button and play a certain song and the car dances ballet in a parking lot. Why? Don’t ever trust cars that can be remotely taken over or self driven.
DeathToMasonsASAP ago
You watch TV..Joe Rogan? Really?
Truthseeker3000 ago
Nope, podcast he has on YouTube. I hate YouTube for their censorship but I needed to hear it.