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Elon Musk wins defamation case over ‘pedo guy’ tweet

 Both Musk and Vernon Unsworth were present for the closing remarks.

Elon Musk wins defamation case over ‘pedo guy’ tweet

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)

After four-day-long trial, a jury decided that Tesla CEO Elon Musk did not defame the British caver who helped with the rescue of a soccer team from a flooding Thai cave in 2018, by calling him a ‘pedo guy’ in one of his tweets.

Both Musk and Vernon Unsworth were present for the closing remarks.

During the last hearing, Musk’s lawyer told the jury the tweet did not rise to the level of defamation and cases over insults didn’t belong in federal courtrooms.

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While leaving the courtroom, Musk told reporters, “My faith in humanity is restored, the jury did the right thing.”

“I accept the jury verdict, take it on the chin, and move on,” Unsworth said outside court.

As per report, in closing remarks, Unsworth’s attorney, L. Lin Wood, characterized one of Musk’s tweets as “sue or true”. Wood said he believed Musk got involved in the Thai cave rescue as a publicity stunt.

“I believe Elon Musk saw an opportunity to capitalize on the attention,” Wood said in his closing statement.

Additionally, Wood asked for $5 million in actual damages, $35 million in assumed damages and $150 million in punitive damages.

“Anybody that knows this man knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that Elon’s accusations were false,” Wood said outside court. “This was not the justice that he deserved under the evidence.”

(With input from agencies)

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