LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A Los Angeles federal jury handed Elon Musk a victory today, rejecting a libel lawsuit sparked by a Twitter post in which the billionaire Tesla CEO branded a British spelunker a “pedo guy.”
After deliberating for an hour, the eight-member jury returned to the courtroom with a verdict that terminated plaintiff Vernon Unsworth's bid for $190 million in damages for alleged emotional pain and humiliation suffered as a result of the online insult, which he claimed accused him of being a pedophile.
As a result of the verdict, Musk will not be liable for damages. As he left court, Musk told reporters, “My faith in humanity is restored.”
Musk posted the insult days after Unsworth -- a cave explorer who helped in the recovery of a dozen young soccer players and their coach from a cave in Thailand -- said on CNN that the tech tycoon's offer of a miniature submarine to help in the rescue was a publicity stunt with “absolutely no chance of working.” Unsworth said Musk could “stick his submarine where it hurts.”
Musk, 48, testified in Los Angeles federal court that he believed Unsworth's comments amounted to an “unprovoked attack on my team and me. He was insulting and rude, so I insulted him back. Regrettable, but ...”
Asked by his own attorney if he seriously meant to accuse Unsworth of the crime of pedophilia, Musk answered: “Absolutely not. I thought it was obviously an insult ... a flippant insult. Nobody took it to mean he's a pedophile.”
Unsworth, 64, a financial adviser and cave explorer who splits his time between Thailand and the United Kingdom, told the jury that Musk's tweet left him feeling “humiliated, ashamed, dirtied.”
The explorer, who was recognized by the governments of the United Kingdom and Thailand for his work in the rescue, told the jury that the “pedo guy” tweet amounted to a “life sentence” of having his “name tagged with being a pedophile.”
As Musk sat quietly with his lawyers, defense attorney Alex Spiro urged the jury to find for Musk, arguing that no “reasonable person” would assume that the “pedo guy” insult posted on Twitter -- which Musk deleted shortly afterwards -- was a serious accusation of pedophilia.
“Who makes a factual allegation of a crime and then deletes the tweet?” Spiro said, adding that Unsworth showed no evidence of pain and suffering “because nobody ever took this as an accusation of a crime.”
“It's just an insult,” the attorney said.
In his closing, Lin Wood, one of Unsworth's attorneys, likened the tweet to a “nuclear bomb” exploding in his client's life, leaving a ruined reputation, emotional harm.
Wood asked the jury to award a total of $190 million for damages for his client's suffering and to “discourage Mr. Musk from ever planting a nuclear bomb in the life of an individual.”
Unsworth said on the witness stand that in the CNN interview, he was only giving his opinion of the device Musk's SpaceX team had devised, but was not criticizing the tech tycoon.
“My insult was to the tube and not to Mr. Musk personally,” Unsworth said during cross-examination by one of Musk's five lawyers. “I'm not sure how I need to apologize. It was my opinion at the time and I stand by that opinion.”
In the same interview, Unsworth said Musk could “stick his submarine where it hurts.”
Testifying in his own defense earlier this week, Musk told jurors he tweeted the “pedo guy” slur -- which he defined as “creepy old dude” -- as an angry reaction to Unsworth's CNN comments, which were made just days earlier.
Unsworth, 64, alleges that the tweet ruined his reputation by branding him a pedophile, telling the jury that he felt “humiliated, ashamed, dirtied.”
The cave explorer, who received several commendations, including an MBE (Member of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth II for his work in the rescue, said the “pedo guy” tweet amounted to a “life sentence” of having his “name tagged with being a pedophile.”
In often halting testimony, Musk on Wednesday apologized to Unsworth several times, and agreed that the insult had caused the plaintiff “unreasonable grief.”
Asked by his own attorney if he seriously meant to accuse Unsworth of the crime of pedophilia, Musk answered: “Absolutely not. I thought it was obviously an insult ... a flippant insult. Nobody took it to mean he's a pedophile.”
Later, Musk added, “I want to be clear. I did not accuse Mr. Unsworth of being a pedophile. I just meant creepy old man.”
Musk founded Hawthorne-based rocketbuilder SpaceX and electric-car maker Tesla, which operates a design complex in Hawthorne, and The Boring Co., which aims to build transit tunnels under the greater Los Angeles area.
Photo: Getty Images