Elon Musk Faces Trial Over Tweet Sent During Thai Cave Rescue
Tesla CEO Elon Musk will face trial on Wednesday, accused of defaming a British cave diver who he branded a "pedo guy" on Twitter.
Vernon Unsworth, who helped rescue 12 young soccer players trapped in a cave in Thailand, is suing the billionaire following a public Twitter spat last year.
The pair have been engaged in a vicious law suit since September 2018 after Musk tweeted to his millions of followers that Unsworthwas a "pedo guy".
In an interview with CNN, Unsworth ridiculed the billionaire's plan to send a miniature submarine into the cave to assist with rescue efforts.
He laughed off the idea and called it a "PR stunt" after the billionaire dispatched a team of Telsa engineers to Thailand.
Musk came under fire for the sledge but insisted "pedo guy" does not mean pedophile in South Africa, where he's from.
"'Pedo guy' was a common insult used in South Africa when I was growing up. It is synonymous with 'creepy old man' and is used to insult a person's appearance and demeanor," Musk said in a court declaration.
Things escalated when Musk hired a private investigator to unearth information about Unsworth. He also emailed BuzzFeed, claiming the diver had married his wife when she was a minor.
After the allegations proved false, Musk defended himself and argued he did not intend BuzzFeed to publish the email without verifying the claims.
He's also accused Unsworth of being fame-hungry and said he's tried to get book and movie deals out of the rescue.
Unsworth's lawyers hit back calling Musk "thin-skinned" and a "bully".
Witnesses will include the diver's current Thai wife, who Unsworth was falsely accused of marrying when she was a child, as well as the diver's first wife Vanessa.
The Telsa CEO's lawyers have previously said Musk refused to settle the case.
Contact Eden at egillespie@networkten.com.au
