Trial date set for Elon Musk's 'pedo guy' tweet

[rooster59]

Trial date set for Elon Musk's 'pedo guy' tweet

By Jonathan Stempel

 

FILE PHOTO: Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks at Manhattan federal court after a hearing on his fraud settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in New York City, U.S. April 4, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday said Elon Musk must face a defamation lawsuit by a British diver who said he was falsely branded a pedophile and child rapist by the chief executive of electric car company Tesla Inc.

 

U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson in Los Angeles said a reasonable jury could conclude that Musk's comments were more than merely opinions, and scheduled a trial for Oct. 22.

 

The judge had on April 26 denied Musk's bid to dismiss the lawsuit brought by diver Vernon Unsworth, without explaining his reasoning.

 

Musk's lawyers did not immediately respond on Friday to requests for comment.

 

Unsworth, who said in his lawsuit he shared a house in the Thailand countryside with a 40-year-old woman who owned a nail salon, was part of a team that helped rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach from a Thailand cave last July 10.

 

He said he became a target for Musk after saying on CNN that a mini-submarine offered for the rescue by Musk from his company SpaceX, where he is also chief executive, was a "PR stunt" and that Musk could "stick his submarine where it hurts."

 

Musk later called Unsworth "pedo guy" on Twitter, a comment for which he apologized. He also urged a BuzzFeed News reporter by email to investigate Unsworth and "stop defending child rapists."

 

Unsworth has denied those allegations.

 

In seeking a dismissal, Musk's lawyers said such comments were "imaginative" or "over-the-top" insults that constituted protected opinion under the U.S. First Amendment.

 

But the judge said Musk was not communicating in "heated and volatile" settings that might explain any excesses.

 

"Considering the totality of the circumstances - including the general context of defendant's statements, the specific context of the statements, and the statements' susceptibility of being proved true or false - a reasonable factfinder could easily conclude that defendant's statements, as pleaded in the complaint, implied assertions of objective fact," Wilson wrote.

 

Wilson said in a footnote he has not found that reasonable jurors would "necessarily" view Musk's comments as factual.

 

"The significance of the ruling is clear: publication of accusations on Twitter does not provide a safe harbor for defamatory statements that are false and convey that they are factual," Unsworth's lawyer L. Lin Wood said in an email.

 

Unsworth is seeking at least $75,000 in compensatory damages plus punitive damages in his Sept. 2018 lawsuit.

 

On April 30, a Manhattan federal judge approved Musk's revised settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission setting out when Musk must obtain advance approval from a Tesla securities lawyer before posting on Twitter or other social media.

 

The case is Unsworth v Musk, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 18-08048.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-05-11

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[pegman]

Settlement/judgement should be based on ability to pay. Say something like $1b. Sounds fair to me.

Edited May 10, 2019 by pegman

[helpisgood]

Just goes to show you that even some brilliant and gifted people like Elon Musk can say and do some pretty dumb things.  As if Musk has nothing better to do with his time than to get involved in a tiff that Musk helped morph into a lawsuit with someone he normally has nothing to do with, as I understand it. 

 

I am guessing that it's something to do about ego and/or controlling one's temper; plus, the much too readily availability of Twitter? 

 

The plaintiff, the British diver, is asking for 75,000 USD, which I am sure is very affordable for Musk.  It's not clear to me what kind of punitive damages the diver seeks and what limits, if any, federal courts permit in such cases.  So, that and who pays the attorney fees may be the wildcard for any settlement.

 

I can easily understand why the diver is upset and no disrespect meant for him, but I am sure the Court would love to see this case settled asap as I am sure they have a lot of other cases pending with greater consequences, for non-public people, than this one.  So, the judge may urge a settlement.  Hopefully, Musk has better things to do with his time as well. 

 

It all may be a good thing, though, for running up some nice attorney fees. 

Edited May 11, 2019 by helpisgood
typo

[pegman]

10 minutes ago, helpisgood said:

Just goes to show you that even some brilliant and gifted people like Elon Musk can say and do some pretty dumb things.  As if Musk has nothing better to do with his time than to get involved in a tiff that Musk helped morph into a lawsuit with someone he normally has nothing to do with, as I understand it. 

 

I am guessing that it's something to do about ego and/or controlling one's temper; plus, the much too readily availability of Twitter? 

 

The plaintiff, the British diver, is asking for 75,000 USD, which I am sure is very affordable for Musk.  It's not clear to me what kind of punitive damages the diver seeks and what limits, if any, federal courts permit in such cases.  So, that and who pays the attorney fees, may be the wildcard for any settlement if Musk's attorneys, especially if Musk cannot get the diver's filed complaint dismissed at the beginning of the suit. 

 

I can easily understand why the diver is upset and no disrespect meant for him, but I am sure the Court would love to see this case settled asap as I am sure they have a lot of other cases pending with greater consequences than this one.  So, the judge may urge a settlement.  It all may be a good thing, though, for running up some nice attorney fees. 

The Brit's lawyers are working on Contingency I believe. Every day their names are in the news cycle is a bonus. The diver has little to lose if it is drawn out. I think this will drag out myself.

[pacovl46]

Well, be careful what you wish for. Musk literally asked Unsworth to sue him. 

[scorecard]

23 minutes ago, pacovl46 said:

Well, be careful what you wish for. Musk literally asked Unsworth to sue him. 

What significance does that have? How could that impact the trial or the result of the trial?

Edited May 11, 2019 by scorecard

[Dukeleto]

I have to wonder if Musk was worth nothing if Mr. Unsworth would be pursuing the matter after receiving an apology from Musk. After all, telling someone who was trying to help you, to stick a submarine clearly up their own arse is uncouth, uncalled for and was attention grabbing and inflammatory. Unsworth could have done the gentlemanly thing and let bygones be bygones but the scent of money and a comfortable retirement seem to be his only objective disguised as indignation in a spat between school yard boys on social media. So what if the whole playground heard it! In my opinion Mr. Unsworth has gone from "Hero" to someone who pans for gold, lest I too find myself facing a lawsuit for saying something more directly, and any kudos he received for those rescue efforts are now somewhat tarnished. Sure Elon was out of line but so was Mr. Unsworth and its a mountain out of a molehill scenario. I do hope, in this case, that the jury sees this for what it is and tosses it out. Both of them simply need to shake hands and BOTH apologise for passing childish comments! I mean honestly, I think Unsworth saying that particular statement to someone like Musk appears to be borderline premeditated in order to achieve this exact result! I am unimpressed by both men.

Edited May 11, 2019 by Dukeleto

[Benmart]

Many toss the word paedophile around in all its forms. I wonder how many know the definition?

[faraday]

3 minutes ago, Benmart said:

Many toss the word paedophile around in all its forms. I wonder how many know the definition?

Or know how to spell the word correctly - as you have done. ????

 

[mtls2005]

Unsworth has an interesting lawyer: L. Lin Wood. One of our more successful "Ambulance Chasers".

 

Seems like pursuing a lawsuit, with little standing in the U.S., and continually having one's name associated with "pedo" is not particularly bright?

 

Assuming it is not settled, and Unsworth's lawyer obviously wants a payday, not sure how a jury would decide. Screw the rich guy, or give some ferner, albeit heroic, a big settlement?

 

Is Unsworth pursuing a case in the U.K. as well?

 

 

Chain of nail salons coming soon? "Nailed It".

 

 

 

 

[TopDeadSenter]

I can't believe this spat is going to court. They were both in the wrong. Unsworth made some dirty joke about where to put Musk's submarine, and Musk made sexual slurs against Unsworth. Tit for tat. Nobody is a hero here. Seems to me like egos running amok. How about they both apologize to each other, it was an emotionally heated time and they both desperately wanted to help. No need to enrich a bunch of lawyers. Shake hands, and go for a pint together. Job done.

[mtls2005]

26 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I can't believe this spat is going to court. They were both in the wrong. Unsworth made some dirty joke about where to put Musk's submarine, and Musk made sexual slurs against Unsworth. Tit for tat. Nobody is a hero here. Seems to me like egos running amok. How about they both apologize to each other, it was an emotionally heated time and they both desperately wanted to help. No need to enrich a bunch of lawyers. Shake hands, and go for a pint together. Job done.

 

Good rational post.

 

I might throw in a donation from Elon Musk, made in Unsworth's name, to a charity which helps Stateless Thais specifically? 

 

I think many of the Wild Boars and their coach were "stateless" - but since granted citizenship.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 11, 2019 by mtls2005

[Ulic]

43 minutes ago, Dukeleto said:

I have to wonder if Musk was worth nothing if Mr. Unsworth would be pursuing the matter after receiving an apology from Musk. After all, telling someone who was trying to help you, to stick a submarine clearly up their own arse is uncouth, uncalled for and was attention grabbing and inflammatory. Unsworth could have done the gentlemanly thing and let bygones be bygones but the scent of money and a comfortable retirement seem to be his only objective disguised as indignation in a spat between school yard boys on social media. So what if the whole playground heard it! In my opinion Mr. Unsworth has gone from "Hero" to someone who pans for gold, lest I too find myself facing a lawsuit for saying something more directly, and any kudos he received for those rescue efforts are now somewhat tarnished. Sure Elon was out of line but so was Mr. Unsworth and its a mountain out of a molehill scenario. I do hope, in this case, that the jury sees this for what it is and tosses it out. Both of them simply need to shake hands and BOTH apologise for passing childish comments! I mean honestly, I think Unsworth saying that particular statement to someone like Musk appears to be borderline premeditated in order to achieve this exact result! I am unimpressed by both men.

If Musk was worth nothing he would have no twitter followers and nobody would be listening to him so not much harm. As he is a billionaire with a large following who doubled down saying the proof of Mr. Unsworth's guilt was that he had not taken legal action. While I admire Musk as a brilliant visionary he is a loose cannon.

[Formaleins]

2 hours ago, helpisgood said:

Just goes to show you that even some brilliant and gifted people like Elon Musk can say and do some pretty dumb things.  As if Musk has nothing better to do with his time than to get involved in a tiff that Musk helped morph into a lawsuit with someone he normally has nothing to do with, as I understand it. 

 

I am guessing that it's something to do about ego and/or controlling one's temper; plus, the much too readily availability of Twitter? 

 

The plaintiff, the British diver, is asking for 75,000 USD, which I am sure is very affordable for Musk.  It's not clear to me what kind of punitive damages the diver seeks and what limits, if any, federal courts permit in such cases.  So, that and who pays the attorney fees may be the wildcard for any settlement.

 

I can easily understand why the diver is upset and no disrespect meant for him, but I am sure the Court would love to see this case settled asap as I am sure they have a lot of other cases pending with greater consequences, for non-public people, than this one.  So, the judge may urge a settlement.  Hopefully, Musk has better things to do with his time as well. 

 

It all may be a good thing, though, for running up some nice attorney fees. 

Great to see Musk having to go to court and face the music! The stupid, arrogant prick thought he could say and do as he liked and just because he is loaded, could just palm the guy off with a piss poor apology and a few satang. Well done to that judge who made sure he has to appear in person. Good luck to Unsworth, I hope he scores a million!

[ballpoint]

54 minutes ago, Dukeleto said:

I have to wonder if Musk was worth nothing if Mr. Unsworth would be pursuing the matter after receiving an apology from Musk.

While Musk did initially apologise, he then proceeded to make further tweets along the lines of asking why Unsworth wasn't suing him if what he said was false, and renewing the accusation.  This pattern of accusation, apology and subsequent re-accusation is similar to what he did with the SEC.  The guy is a bully, using his money as a weapon, and sadly there are all too many who are dazzled by wealth to such an extent as to worship anyone who achieves it, no matter how badly they behave.   

[klauskunkel]

Unsworth told Musk "to stick it where it hurts". With that Unsworth insulted Musk's ego.

Elon Musk called Unsworth a "child rapist" and "pedo guy". With that Musk asserted that Unsworth is a most despicable criminal.

Musk's statements are by far the most damaging and were not made in the heat of the moment, but made deliberately and repeatedly in public media.

 

[DLock]

6 minutes ago, klauskunkel said:

Unsworth told Musk "to stick it where it hurts". With that Unsworth insulted Musk's ego.

Elon Musk called Unsworth a "child rapist" and "pedo guy". With that Musk asserted that Unsworth is a most despicable criminal.

Musk's statements are by far the most damaging and were not made in the heat of the moment, but made deliberately and repeatedly in public media.

 

 I agree. Musk also has the vast Twitter following, whereas Unsworth comment was probably heard by a handful of people. Musk went out of his way to defame Unsworth.

 

For those saying that they should shake hands and let bygones be bygones. Betas.

 

[garzhe]

46 minutes ago, Formaleins said:

Great to see Musk having to go to court and face the music! The stupid, arrogant prick thought he could say and do as he liked and just because he is loaded, could just palm the guy off with a piss poor apology and a few satang. Well done to that judge who made sure he has to appear in person. Good luck to Unsworth, I hope he scores a million!

Whatever you think of him stupid he isn't

[Dice Man]

56 minutes ago, Ulic said:

If Musk was worth nothing he would have no twitter followers and nobody would be listening to him so not much harm. As he is a billionaire with a large following who doubled down saying the proof of Mr. Unsworth's guilt was that he had not taken legal action. While I admire Musk as a brilliant visionary he is a loose cannon.

So ...A Man whose actions saved the lives of 12 boys in a cave is not a worthy person but a megalomaniac who issues what in the UK are seriously defamatory insults is OK...warped sense of worth MR.

[grumpy 4680]

    How would those defending Musk, like to have their name plastered in the Press as a paedophile ????

[DLock]

15 minutes ago, car720 said:

One of the best comments ever!

I could come out and say many things about both parties but they won't go for me because I haven't got a cent to my name.  In my time if you got into a scrap with someone you would have it out and the best man would win and then pick up the other guy and buy him a beer.

 

Ah, the 1950's....great years.

 

These days, pull out your gun or your phone to video it and then call your lawyer on speed dial...

[silver sea]

1 hour ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I can't believe this spat is going to court. They were both in the wrong. Unsworth made some dirty joke about where to put Musk's submarine, and Musk made sexual slurs against Unsworth. Tit for tat. Nobody is a hero here. Seems to me like egos running amok. How about they both apologize to each other, it was an emotionally heated time and they both desperately wanted to help. No need to enrich a bunch of lawyers. Shake hands, and go for a pint together. Job done.

 

1 hour ago, mtls2005 said:

 

Good rational post.

 

I might throw in a donation from Elon Musk, made in Unsworth's name, to a charity which helps Stateless Thais specifically? 

 

I think many of the Wild Boars and their coach were "stateless" - but since granted citizenship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In British English we would call this spat a case of ‘handbags at dawn’ https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Handbags at dawn

 

If, to settle the case, a donation were to be made, it would be appropriate to include the family of the Thai Navy SEAL diver, Saman Gunan, who, sadly, died while trying to help rescue the boys in the cave https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44734385

 

 

 

Edited May 11, 2019 by silver sea

[manchega]

4 hours ago, helpisgood said:

Just goes to show you that even some brilliant and gifted people like Elon Musk can say and do some pretty dumb things.  As if Musk has nothing better to do with his time than to get involved in a tiff that Musk helped morph into a lawsuit with someone he normally has nothing to do with, as I understand it. 

 

I am guessing that it's something to do about ego and/or controlling one's temper; plus, the much too readily availability of Twitter? 

 

The plaintiff, the British diver, is asking for 75,000 USD, which I am sure is very affordable for Musk.  It's not clear to me what kind of punitive damages the diver seeks and what limits, if any, federal courts permit in such cases.  So, that and who pays the attorney fees may be the wildcard for any settlement.

 

I can easily understand why the diver is upset and no disrespect meant for him, but I am sure the Court would love to see this case settled asap as I am sure they have a lot of other cases pending with greater consequences, for non-public people, than this one.  So, the judge may urge a settlement.  Hopefully, Musk has better things to do with his time as well. 

 

It all may be a good thing, though, for running up some nice attorney fees. 

he is gifted at something but running companies that produce profit is not one of them.  I really don't understand how the number of investors increases still

[spidermike007]

Musk is an out of control maniac. An obviously clever man, but one with an outsized ego, and little common sense. He deserves what is coming, and one can only hope he pays dearly, for slandering the name of a good man, needlessly, and based entirely on perceived petty ego bruising. Musk knew nothing about the cave structure, yet pretended to be an expert. When he was corrected, he went ballistic. If he were not so successful, and apparently smart, I would have to say he is a moron. 

 

The unfortunate part of this lawsuit, is that Musk has alot of cash to throw at a legal team, and the bigger guy usually wins in the US. Not always the case though. Let us hope Musk gets his butt handed to him.

Edited May 11, 2019 by spidermike007

[Andrew65]

4 hours ago, helpisgood said:

Just goes to show you that even some brilliant and gifted people like Elon Musk can say and do some pretty dumb things.  As if Musk has nothing better to do with his time than to get involved in a tiff that Musk helped morph into a lawsuit with someone he normally has nothing to do with, as I understand it. 

 

I am guessing that it's something to do about ego and/or controlling one's temper; plus, the much too readily availability of Twitter? 

 

The plaintiff, the British diver, is asking for 75,000 USD, which I am sure is very affordable for Musk.  It's not clear to me what kind of punitive damages the diver seeks and what limits, if any, federal courts permit in such cases.  So, that and who pays the attorney fees may be the wildcard for any settlement.

 

I can easily understand why the diver is upset and no disrespect meant for him, but I am sure the Court would love to see this case settled asap as I am sure they have a lot of other cases pending with greater consequences, for non-public people, than this one.  So, the judge may urge a settlement.  Hopefully, Musk has better things to do with his time as well. 

 

It all may be a good thing, though, for running up some nice attorney fees. 

There are some amazingly gifted and talented people in the World.

 

However, the cult of celebrity and money means that such people are held to be infallible and beyond reproach, when in fact they almost certainly have weaknesses, just the same as the rest of the human race.

 

It seems like Musk was maybe jealous of the celebrity status that the divers were receiving, he could well be a bit of an "attention-whore", as our American friends say.

[Kieran00001]

2 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I can't believe this spat is going to court. They were both in the wrong. Unsworth made some dirty joke about where to put Musk's submarine, and Musk made sexual slurs against Unsworth. Tit for tat. Nobody is a hero here. Seems to me like egos running amok. How about they both apologize to each other, it was an emotionally heated time and they both desperately wanted to help. No need to enrich a bunch of lawyers. Shake hands, and go for a pint together. Job done.

 

You couldn't be a judge, leave it to someone who has that mental capacity.

[Kieran00001]

2 hours ago, Benmart said:

Many toss the word paedophile around in all its forms. I wonder how many know the definition?

 

You've got to wonder what is with some peoples obsession with pointing out that you're not a pedo according to the dictionary if the child you are attracted to has started puberty.

 

Anyway, do you mean the definition found in the dictionary or do you mean the accepted legal definition? 

 

They are quite different, the former may exhonerate in your mind, but its the latter that counts, and that definition just says children, legally it means attraction to the underage.

[Wilsonandson]

I hope Elon doesn't give one cent to this guy. Elon has already apologised. Vernon is clearly exploiting the situation for financial gain. As for tarnishing reputations, it's Elon who has most to lose. And what about Thailand, will this effect Elon's decision making when it comes to his investments in Thailand? He's just built a massive Tesla factory in China. If Elon loses this case would he ever come back to Thailand? This has negative impacts for the future all because of the pursuit for financial gain.

[Kieran00001]

46 minutes ago, manchega said:

he is gifted at something but running companies that produce profit is not one of them.  I really don't understand how the number of investors increases still

 

Sure, he was given the majority, $10,000 by his rich daddy, and he didnt make anything from his first venture, zip2, only 300 million, or his second, x.com, only a billion, and then spacex, what a disaster, its only profitted 19 billion, and now Tesla, a measly 43 billion, what are the investors thinking?

Edited May 11, 2019 by Kieran00001

[Kieran00001]

11 minutes ago, Wilsonandson said:

I hope Elon doesn't give one cent to this guy. Elon has already apologised. Vernon is clearly exploiting the situation for financial gain. As for tarnishing reputations, it's Elon who has most to lose. And what about Thailand, will this effect Elon's decision making when it comes to his investments in Thailand? He's just built a massive Tesla factory in China. If Elon loses this case would he ever come back to Thailand? This has negative impacts for the future all because of the pursuit for financial gain.

 

He had the chance to leave it after his apology, instead he went to a Vice journalist and asked them to dig dirt on Vernon and doubled down on his assertion that he is a pedo, he's lucky he didn't do it in Thailand or he would be in jail.  And he also called you and I pedos, he is far from welcome in Thailand.

 

Clearly for you it is all about money, you imagine the one with the biggest potential loss should win, but its not about money, its about clearing his good name, if it were do you not imagine he may have sued for a little more than $75k?

Edited May 11, 2019 by Kieran00001