Entrepreneur Elon Musk was not guilty of defamation and defamation when he called a British diving specialist who took part in a rescue campaign for a group of Thai footballers on Twitter a ‘pedo’. That is the opinion of a jury in Los Angeles, as reported by various American media online.
In July 2018, the British speleologist Vern Unsworth coordinated the rescue of a dozen Thai football players and their trainer who got stuck in a flooded cave. The eccentric Tesla CEO Elon Musk also wanted to do his bit and developed a kind of mini-underwater capsule which he then sent to Thailand.
The device was ultimately not used, and Unsworth was very critical of the entrepreneur during an interview on the American news channel CNN. According to the diver, a rescue operation with Musk’s device “had no chance of success” and was merely a publicity stunt.
According to Musk’s lawyers, the businessman did not call the Brit, a paedophile, but, with a “general insult,” he just wanted to call him a “creepy old man.” They accused the diver that he was after money.
In turn, Unsworth’s counsel, Lin Wood, argued that Musk was a “rich bully” who had dropped the equivalent of a “nuclear bomb” on his client, with consequences for his career and relationships. ‘You insult people during a fight. “There is no bomb, no bomb has exploded,” Musk’s lawyer responded.
The Tesla boss himself was relieved after announcing the verdict. “My faith in humanity has been restored,” it sounded.