Jury is expected to take up Musk’s ‘pedo guy’ defamation case today

Cave diver, Tesla CEO discuss insults they traded on Twitter

Jurors in the defamation trial of Elon Musk could be deciding the case today following a day of testimony that included British cave diver Vernon Unsworth testifying against the Tesla chief executive.

Unsworth is suing Musk in federal court in Los Angeles for defamation of character and slander after Musk used the term “pedo guy” on Twitter to describe Unsworth during the efforts last year to rescue a boys soccer team that had been trapped for days in an underground cave in Thailand. Musk had offered to send a mini-submarine to aid the boys’ relief attempts. All 12 boys, and their coach, were eventually rescued without assistance from Musk.

Unsworth, in an interview with CNN in 2018, said Musk could “stick his submarine where it hurts” and called his offer “a PR stunt.” In response, Musk went on Twitter to say of Unsworth, “Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it,” and “Bet ya a signed dollar it’s true.”

In his testimony Thursday, Unsworth, according to Reuters, was asked if his comments were meant for Musk. Unsworth replied that he wasn’t trying to rile up the electric-car industry magnate.

“My insult was to the tube and not to Mr. Musk personally,” Unsworth said. “I’m not sure how I need to apologize. It was my opinion at the time and I stand by that opinion.”

Unsworth is arguing that Musk’s “pedo guy” tweet harmed the cave diver’s reputation, and is seeking $75,000 in damages. Musk, who is reportedly worth close to $20 billion, has much of his wealth tied up in shares of Tesla, and his space- exploration company, SpaceX. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year, Musk received a

2018 compensation package from Tesla of $2.29 billion, with $2.28 billion coming in the form of Tesla stock options. Musk’s compensation was more than $2 billion more than that of the next highest-paid U.S. CEO.

Jury deliberations in the trial could begin Friday depending upon other witness testimony and closing arguments.

Musk, while on the stand on Tuesday, apologized to Unsworth for his tweets, saying they were an “off the cuff” response to what Unsworth said in his CNN interview.