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Bloomberg

Elon Musk revealed that he hired a private investigator for US$50,000 to back up his assertion in a 2018 tweet that a British caver was a “pedo guy”.
Musk is now asking a judge to forgo a trial and a throw out a lawsuit by the caver, Vernon Unsworth, accusing the chief executive officer of Tesla and SpaceX of defamation.
“By referring to Mr Unsworth as ‘pedo guy’, I did not intend to convey any facts or imply that Mr Unsworth had engaged in acts of paedophilia,” Musk said in a court filing Monday.
“Pedo guy was a common insult used in South Africa when I was growing up. It is synonymous with ‘creepy old man’ and is used to insult a person’s appearance and demeanour, not accuse a person of paedophilia.”

Musk revealed that one of his trusted aides, commissioned a private investigator to conduct an investigation of Unsworth on Musk’s behalf.
“Musk’s motion is as offensive to the truth and the sworn testimony developed in this case as was his initial false and heinous accusation of paedophilia,” Unsworth’s lawyer, L Lin Wood, said in an emailed statement.
In a Twitter rant, Elon Musk vows to create a news credibility rating site called ‘Pravda’ – here’s how that’s connected to Russia
Musk’s legal team asked the judge to dismiss the case before a scheduled December 2 trial, arguing that a BuzzFeed article about his tiff with Unsworth and his tweets don’t meet the legal standard of defamation.
They asked the judge to treat Unsworth as a “public figure” for purposes of the case, arguing that Unsworth must meet a higher-than-ordinary level of proof that Musk either knew his statements were false or that he was reckless in making them.

“Mr Unsworth cannot establish a defamation case just because Mr Musk insulted him on Twitter and sent a private email to a reporter,” they wrote in the court filing.
“The Constitution does not allow that.”
In April, a federal judge in Los Angeles rejected Musk’s request to dismiss Unsworth’s case.
Elon Musk claims US constitutional right to call Thai-cave hero Vernon Unsworth a ‘pedo’ and ‘child rapist’, even though he’s not
The spat between the two erupted after Unsworth dismissed the mini-submarine that Musk and employees at SpaceX had built to assist in the rescue of a group of Thai boys who were trapped in a flooded cave last year.
Unsworth said in a television interview that the mini-submarine, which ultimately wasn’t used in the rescue, was a “PR stunt” and that Musk could “stick his submarine where it hurts”.
Musk recently settled a US Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit over his Twitter use.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Tesla

Elon Musk hired a private detective to investigate man he called ‘pedo guy’ in Thai cave rescue operation

Elon Musk recently settled a US Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit over his Twitter use. Photo: AFP

This frame grab from video tweeted by Elon Musk shows a "tiny kid-sized submarine" being tested in a pool at Palisades Charter High School, Sunday, July 8, 2018, in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Musk's Space X rocket company tested the submarine that could potentially help rescue the remaining children and their coach trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand. (Courtesy of Elon Musk via AP)

epa06893143 (FILE) - British cave diver Vern Unsworth (C) walks next to a Thai soldier and policemen during the ongoing rescue operations for the youth soccer team and their coach, at the Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park, Chiang Rai province, Thailand, 30 June 2018 (reissued 16 July 2018). Unsworth, a British cave diver who took part in the operation to rescue the 12 Thai boys and their coach who were trapped inside a cave, is reportedly considering a legal action against business magnate Elon Musk, an entrepreneur founder CEO of SpaceX. According to media reports on 16 July 2018, Unsworth is reacting to a derogatory Twitter post by Elon Musk allegedly refering to Unsworth. EPA-EFE/PONGMANAT TASIRI

Elon Musk claims US constitutional right to call Thai-cave hero Vernon Unsworth a ‘pedo’ and ‘child rapist’, even though he’s not

Elon Musk, co-founder and chief executive officer of Tesla Inc, speaks during an unveiling event for his Boring Company’s test tunnel in Hawthorne, California, on December 18. Photo: Bloomberg

FILE- In this Sept. 6, 2018, file photo British cave expert Vernon Unsworth talks with guests at an event titled the "United as One" in Bangkok, Thailand. Unsworth, who helped rescue soccer players trapped in a Thai cave is suing Elon Musk, alleging that the Tesla CEO falsely accused him of being a pedophile. The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court Monday, Sept. 17, seeks more than $75,000 in damages and a court order stopping Musk from making further allegations. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

In a Twitter rant, Elon Musk vows to create a news credibility rating site called ‘Pravda’ — here’s how that’s connected to Russia

A man reads an issue of Pravda newspaper in Moscow, Russia, December 1941. Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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Elon Musk’s legal team asks the judge to dismiss defamation case before a scheduled December 2 trial



The Tesla chief executive hired the private investigator for US$50,000 to back up his assertion in a 2018 tweet about British caver Vernon Unsworth.


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