Elon Musk sued for libel by British Thai cave rescuer

[canetoad]

Source: BBC

A British cave diver is suing tech billionaire Elon Musk for defamation after his repeated claims the diver is a child abuser.

Vernon Unsworth helped with the rescue of 12 Thai teenagers from a flooded cave in July.

Mr Musk has made several accusations against Mr Unsworth without evidence, including that he was a "child rapist".

The lawsuit seeks $75,000 (£57,000) in compensation and an injunction against Mr Musk to stop further allegations.

The filing also says Mr Unsworth is seeking "punitive damages" as well as the compensation, "to punish him for his wrongdoing and deter him from repeating such heinous conduct".

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45551895

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Copy of lawsuit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/17_09_18_musk_filing.pdf

[Pachamama]

1. Is he a child abuser?

I am just curious why Elon Musk would make this claim.... it seems out of character....

[canetoad]

3. I don't think so

Musk was annoyed when they rejected his mini-sub.

[exboyfil]

5. Musk put up no evidence

to support it. He even baited the guy to sue him.

Musk may be working from a stereotype. A middle aged guy moves to Thailand - he is there to access underage children for sex.

Musk should pay to make it go away.

[torius]

7. He claimed he found info on the guy

and that he had gone there for a child bride. I don't know where he got this info.

[exboyfil]

8. Out of his rear end?

The guy apparently has a long term adult girlfriend. He was one of the heroes of the rescue so these accusations probably aren't going to play well.

[Denzil_DC]

24. Can you link to where Musk claimed that he had proof?

I lost interest in the whole thing in disgust, but last I saw on Twitter, Musk was making insinuations up out of whole cloth along the lines of "Why would an English guy go live in Thailand if it wasn't to molest kids?" and yukking it up with some of his more fanatical fans, playing the "Well, if there was nothing in it, he'd sue me, right?" game.

So now it's game on - both in the US and in the UK (where the libel laws are notoriously less loaded in favour of the libeler).

[paulkienitz]

11. he may have been using a bit too much Bolivian marching powder to keep working 16 hour days

Some combination of exhaustion and stimulants might explain this.

Elon, I'm a fan, but you done fucked up. Now apologize and pay your settlement.

[Initech]

13. This is 2018, where anyone can accuse anybody of being a pedophile.

Despite having no evidence to the contrary. We can thank the Pizzagate and Qanon morons for that one.

[Gothmog]

2. Elon Musk really attacked these people for no reason

[Blue_Tires]

12. Musk was jealous because neither the world media

nor the Thai gov't took his overly-complex, impractical "plan" to save the kids seriously (https://www.vox.com/2018/7/10/17553820/elon-musk-thai-cave-rescue-submarine), and there wasn't enough homage paid to his genius

[Beakybird]

4. That was a nasty accusation.

Let's see if Mr. Musk can back it up.

[LiberalFighter]

6. Elon Musk is a pos in many ways.

[jb5150]

9. Being wealty does not preclude one

from being an asshole, as we all well know.

[bucolic_frolic]

10. It's a self-driving lawsuit at this point

Did he expect the guy to remain silent and just take it?

[7962]

16. Reminds me of someone else........

"I'm richer than you, so you cant do anything to ME"

[Bengus81]

14. So Hillary should file a load of lawsuits too.............

[LiberalLovinLug]

18. I really think she should

By remaining silent when he routinely called and still calls her "crooked Hillary" and says she is a criminal, his deplorables, and even many moderate Rs probably, think that there is something there.

I'd love to see a court case that proves Hillary is NOT a criminal, has never been charged as a criminal. And forces Donald to pay up. While I'm sure many deplorables will never believe it, thinking the "deep state" is protecting her, it might help put doubt in a lot of others about why and how they ever thought that. (Years of RW propaganda media of course)

[MaryMagdaline]

26. She's a public figure. British libel laws much more favorable to Plaintiff

[7962]

15. Sure is a low amount to ask. But I guess he's just concerned about clearing his name.

Musk was an idiot.

[LiberalLovinLug]

17. It is an astoundingly low amount

For an almost iron clad case against a billionaire like Musk.
That will work against any case Musk's lawyers might make that he's just trying to cash in.

In fact he made it very easy for Elon to quickly pay up and move on. It was a foolish thing to do in the first place. I have a bit of a tolerance and a longer rope for Musk because of his accomplishments. I also appreciate him pulling out of Trump's business council or whatever it was. But he has to deal with this, admit he was wrong, and pay up quickly.

[csziggy]

19. He may only be suing for $75,000 in compensation

But the punitive damages are not named and could reach a considerable amount if the jury or judge decides to punish Elon Musk.

From the OP:

The lawsuit seeks $75,000 (£57,000) in compensation and an injunction against Mr Musk to stop further allegations.

The filing also says Mr Unsworth is seeking "punitive damages" as well as the compensation, "to punish him for his wrongdoing and deter him from repeating such heinous conduct".

[7962]

20. Ahhhhhhhhhh. Got it. nt

[LiberalLovinLug]

21. Uh....ok, I missed that part

Still, he can afford it, whatever it is. And should just quietly pay it and move on.

[Denzil_DC]

25. Yup. For an ultra-rich guy like Musk, what a judge and jury might consider "punitive"

could amount to a tidy sum.

[Harker]

22. The requested compensation is low...

but the punitive damages awarded could be astronomical.

And I post very slowly.

[Sgent]

28. The article

is a little wrong. He's asking for more than 75,000 in compensation -- with the amount to be determined by a jury.

75,000 is the smallest to get it into Federal court.

[PSPS]

23. Musk is a total fraud. Why he has so many fan boyz, even here on DU, is baffling.

[Zorro]

27. Musk's companies have built some of the most advanced cars available

and developed ground-breaking rocket technologies.

Musk is hardly "a total fraud".