Vernon Unsworth, the British diver accused of being a “pedo” by Elon Musk, has failed in his attempts to sue the billionaire.
On Friday, a jury in Los Angeles determined that Musk’s comments had not harmed Unsworth’s reputation, and that no money was owed by the Tesla co-founder. Unsworth had been suing Musk for $190million.
The two men had been involved in attempts to rescue 12 boys from the Tham Luang cave in Thailand.
Unsworth drew Musk’s ire when he referred to the billionaire’s attempts to help as a “PR stunt.” Musk responded by tweeting about Unsworth, referring to him as a “pedo guy.” When challenged on the comment, Musk issued a follow-up statement saying “Bet ya a signed dollar it’s true.”
However, the LA court found in Musk’s favour, deliberating for less than an hour. Musk had defended the comment as a “playground insult” rather than a sincere accusation of paedophilia.
Musk’s defence team had argued that Unsworth’s reputation had not been damaged — as evidence by awards from the Queen of England, the Thai government and a photo-op with former Prime Minister Theresa May.
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