Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives in court for defamation hearing

Tesla's chief executive, Elon Musk, arrives at a U.S. District Court in Los Angeles and is expected to testify in his own defense against a defamation lawsuit brought by a British cave explorer. Vernon Unsworth is suing Musk for calling him a "pedo guy." Musk posted the tweet after Unsworth accused Musk in a CNN interview of grandstanding by offering to help Unsworth's diving team rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach from a Thailand cave in July 2018. CNBC's Morgan Brennan reports.

[lbogaardt]

Is this what the news is like in the US? A woman shouting at the camera while annoying banners flash and move across the screen with silly sound effects. It's like a casino. Total depravity.

[mediamused]

Can a real lawyer and not a wannabe spectator comment here, please!

[KrK-EST]

Correction
Musk did Not accused him publicly with those tweets, as the court already understood.
Both Unsworth and Musk helped, not only Unsworth, with the rescue.
Both gave their advice, difference was Musk also had built a minisub and sent it to help with the rescue that was not needed in the end.
Problem started when Unsworth in a news interview used the words "can shove it where it hurts" about Musk's SpaceX developed minisub where Musk replied to that as a "pedo guy", as shoving big things in to small....
All stated is public record and statements and material even used in this same case.

[tswrench]

Some things to consider about why this was indeed a case of slam dunk defamation: The plaintiff, Vernon Unsworth, is a Brit who lives in Thailand, and he was involved in the rescue of Thai school boys who were trapped in a cave. Let's examine that more closely: First off--Unsworth is British and Britain has one of the highest rates of pedophilia in the world (look it up), and for many years it's been referred to through various media. Secondly--Unsworth lives in Thailand, which has long been known as a destination for pedophiles due to the rampant sex trade and human trafficking in that country. Thirdly--this was a rescue mission involving Thai schoolboys.

We know that Musk is, among other things, an ego run amok if not a megalomaniac, and there's no way he was going to let Unsworth's insult go (Musk behaves much like Trump in this regard). I am certain that Elon Musk was fully aware of all three of the above-mentioned conditions when he tweeted that Vernon Unsworth is a "pedo guy." It was a retaliatory insult, and by its very design, was intended to embarrass and defame Unsworth.

When I first read it, I assumed that Musk had done some digging into Unsworth's lifestyle and uncovered something scandalous. How many millions of others thought the same thing after reading Musk's tweet and the headlines that were spawned from that tweet? The problem for Musk is that Unsworth is not a "pedo guy." That was just Musk swinging wildly in the media against a guy who insulted him. It was a slam dunk case of defamation, and I don't know how Musk was acquitted, but it doesn't smell right.

[dennisstankie]

Elon Musk was a poor witness. He said, "the fault is mine and mine alone"

[markwicklander]

Vern initiated the subject by telling elon he should put his submarine where it hurts.