Tesla boss Elon Musk wins defamation trial over 'pedo guy' tweet

By Nichola Groom and Rachel Parsons

 

FILE PHOTO - SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 13, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake

 

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A federal court jury in Los Angeles on Friday found in favor of Tesla Inc <TSLA.O> boss 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.

 

Musk, who testified during the first two days of the trial in his own defense and returned to court on Friday to hear closing arguments from the two sides, exited the courtroom after the verdict and said: "My faith in humanity is restored."

 

The case is believed to be the first major defamation lawsuit by a private individual to go to trial over tweets.

 

Unsworth's attorney L. Lin Wood summed up his case against Musk by calling the high-tech entrepreneur a "billionaire bully" who had "dropped a nuclear bomb" on Unsworth in a series of tweets suggesting he was a pedophile.

 

Wood said Musk's "pedo guy" remark was a slur that would overshadow Unsworth's relationships and job prospects for years to come and urged jurors to teach the Tesla chief executive and SpaceX founder a lesson.

 

But the jury, in its unanimous decision, was apparently swayed by the arguments put forth by Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro, who said the Twitter message in question arose from an argument between two men and amounted to an off-hand insult that no one could be expected to take seriously.

 

"In arguments you insult people," he said. "There is no bomb. No bomb went off."

 

(Additional reporting by Steve Gorman and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles, and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-12-07

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Vern should not have wasted his time and money. 

 

That aggressive defamation nonsense only works in undeveloped countries like Thailand. 

 

Never should have mouthed off about Musk's efforts to help either. 

One law for the rich and another for the poor. 

Arrogance pays off.

This is just wrong.

 

I know that both sides do share some blame, but labeling a guy 'Pedo' on a public forum for no good reason should not be allowed.

 

I am a fan of Elon most of the time, but not at this time.

 

Hey Elon! Do the right thing and cut this guy a cheque for all his attorney's fees; you are a multi-billionaire and it is (literally!) the least that you can do.

 

 

9 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

Vern should not have wasted his time and money. 

 

That aggressive defamation nonsense only works in undeveloped countries like Thailand. 

 

Never should have mouthed off about Musk's efforts to help either. 

He had a golden opportunity and he squandered when he went after the quick payoff.

After Musk apologised he should have held a press conference , said he was also sorry so telling Musk to stick it. Emotions were running high , bla bla bla,  I would like to meet Musk and talk man to man, They mee have lunch, a couple of bears and ar buddies, , come out proclaim water under the bridge. 

Does not hurt to have a friend like musk IMO. 

 

At a time when everyone else was relieved and overjoyed the kids were rescued Vern chose to make his 10 seconds of fame by smugly blurting out insults and lies about Elon to millions by way of CNN. I never understood that. I also never understood why Elon retaliated so viciously. Glad a little childish nonsense between two adults did not result in multi million dollars changing hands. Hopefully Elon does not counter sue and leaves it alone. And hope Vern has learned something.

 

And after the verdict, the jury drove off into the sunset in there all new Tesla 3....

5 minutes ago, sirineou said:

He had a golden opportunity and he squandered when he went after the quick payoff.

After Musk apologised he should have held a press conference , said he was also sorry so telling Musk to stick it. Emotions were running high , bla bla bla,  I would like to meet Musk and talk man to man, They mee have lunch, a couple of bears and ar buddies, , come out proclaim water under the bridge. 

Does not hurt to have a friend like musk IMO. 

 

Musk is a psychopath, not the kind of person I would want to have as a friend.

I never realised he was seeing $180 million in damages . Hardly surprising he lost

 

maybe if he was more smart and seeking $100000-200000 he would of won but $$180 million ?????

3 minutes ago, canopy said:

At a time when everyone else was relieved and overjoyed the kids were rescued Vern chose to make his 10 seconds of fame by smugly blurting out insults and lies about Elon to millions by way of CNN. I never understood that. I also never understood why Elon retaliated so viciously. Glad a little childish nonsense between two adults did not result in multi million dollars changing hands. Hopefully Elon does not counter sue and leaves it alone. And hope Vern has learned something.

 

On the contrary.  A reputation for being a peedo in the UK is a death sentence.  Elon used the cruelist  meanest insult he could because his fragile ego was hurt when someone told him the truth. Elon still faces legal action in Thailand and The UK.

3 minutes ago, CHdiver said:

And after the verdict, the jury drove off into the sunset in there all new Tesla 3....

now that a defamation, dude

Just now, cmarshall said:

Musk is a psychopath, not the kind of person I would want to have as a friend.

Perhaps a sociopath, many people at that level are.  But a Psychopath??? do you know what that means?

What makes you think that? Can you point out some Psychopathic behaviour you have witnessed 

It's a bit ironic that the defendent called the plantiff "pedo guy" in one tweet. The planitff could have just let it go and it never would have been mentioned again.

 

But no, he took the bait and now "pedo guy" has been used in relation to him what, 1 million times. And he had to hear "Pedo Guy" thousands of times during the trial. And every Google Search for his name will contain the words "Pedo Guy".

 

What a doofus.

 

 

Very odd. Probably the worse insult you can give.. and then doubled down on it in several ways.. given by someone with a global reach of millions. If that is not defamation then i dont know what is.

It's the right decision. Unsworth told Musk to stick his sub up his you know what, which started the tit-for-tat. Musk was only trying to help. Unsworth now learns not to start a fight he can not win, and next time will not be so daft. Most of us learned this in primary school. I wonder if Unsworth now has to pay his team of hot shot lawyers millions? Another hard lesson!

9 minutes ago, sirineou said:

He had a golden opportunity and he squandered when he went after the quick payoff.

After Musk apologised he should have held a press conference , said he was also sorry so telling Musk to stick it. Emotions were running high , bla bla bla,  I would like to meet Musk and talk man to man, They mee have lunch, a couple of bears and ar buddies, , come out proclaim water under the bridge. 

Does not hurt to have a friend like musk IMO. 

 

There was no pay off but a request for 50 k dollars to be given to a children's charity. Musk was supported by the kind of corrupt legal process the world has come to expect from the USA, a pariah state.

1 minute ago, TopDeadSenter said:

It's the right decision. Unsworth told Musk to stick his sub up his you know what, which started the tit-for-tat. Musk was only trying to help. Unsworth now learns not to start a fight he can not win, and next time will not be so daft. Most of us learned this in primary school. I wonder if Unsworth now has to pay his team of hot shot lawyers millions? Another hard lesson!

Lets wait till Musk comes to Thailand shall we?

Just now, sunnyboy2018 said:

Lets wait till Musk comes to Thailand shall we?

If you are suggesting that Unsworth would win over Musk in a Thai court, you do not understand the relationship here between deep pockets and victorious court adventures.

20 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Arrogance pays off.

Not for Vern, his refusal to apologise/retract his slur in court probably cost him

12 minutes ago, Samui Bodoh said:

This is just wrong.

 

I know that both sides do share some blame, but labeling a guy 'Pedo' on a public forum for no good reason should not be allowed.

 

I am a fan of Elon most of the time, but not at this time.

 

Hey Elon! Do the right thing and cut this guy a cheque for all his attorney's fees; you are a multi-billionaire and it is (literally!) the least that you can do.

Unsworth's lawyers took the case on pro bono, so it'd just be the travel costs I guess. But yes, it's a disgraceful outcome. Do the US courts and juries not understand the gravity of the accusations Musk repeatedly made? 

Self importance on both sides.... a special insight into ego defense.

When this was first reported, i said they were both in the wrong, just let it go.

I was attacked by a few on here, but i was correct, the jury agreed with me.

Why Vern had to go after such a large sum was crazy, not using common sense, but listening to lawyers who just push, push for large sums so they make money.

Now Vern will only be known as the guy chasing a large payout and got nothing.

I read stories what they do with pedo-guys in prison. And that's not the only place where people with such reputation are treated like s$#@.

But according to an all American jury that is ok, no problem.

How would they react if someone famous would call them in public that name?

What a disgusting verdict!

 

 

 

42 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

Vern should not have wasted his time and money. 

 

That aggressive defamation nonsense only works in undeveloped countries like Thailand. 

 

Never should have mouthed off about Musk's efforts to help either. 

Actually, Vern should have won since it was not limited to off-the cuff insults but also trying to get reporters involved in reporting it that way after the fact.  It shows that it was more than just off-the cuff insults.

America 4.0

 

 

10 minutes ago, lamyai3 said:

Unsworth's lawyers took the case on pro bono, so it'd just be the travel costs I guess. But yes, it's a disgraceful outcome. Do the US courts and juries not understand the gravity of the accusations Musk repeatedly made? 

Do they care?

15 minutes ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

There was no pay off but a request for 50 k dollars to be given to a children's charity. Musk was supported by the kind of corrupt legal process the world has come to expect from the USA, a pariah state.

Read ther OP  " Vernon Unsworth, was seeking $190 million damages against Musk,"

Vernon started it. Musk should have ignored it but didn’t. 

I agree with the jury, it was a pissing contest and they were throwing around insults that no reasonable person would take seriously. 

 

The suit was only filed because Vern thought he could make an easy 190 million. He gambled and he lost. The winners were the lawyers. 

 

I’m surprised (not really though since it’s Thai Visa) on how many people post silly comments about how the jury sided with Musk because he’s rich, or are implying he bribed them. 

 

The result would have been the same if the suit was between two 7-11 clerks. But 7-11 clerks wouldn’t end up in court because they’re smarter than that. 

20 minutes ago, BestB said:

I never realised he was seeing $180 million in damages . Hardly surprising he lost

 

maybe if he was more smart and seeking $100000-200000 he would of won but $$180 million ?????

Exactly. He was trying to exploit Musk's wealth. And for that, he deserves to pay his own legal fees as he tucks his tail between his legs and scurries back to Thailand Nakon Nowhere. 

 

People think wealthy guys like Musk should roll over and 'be nice' and conflate his media and TV personalities with the fact he has done more for the world than 10,000 of us would like do in 100 lifetimes. 

 

Vern started this nonsense. Now it has ended.