(FILES) In this file photo taken on July 19, 2017, Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, speaks during the International Space Station Research and Development Conference at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. Tesla shares stumbled on July 16, 2018 as chief executive Elon Musk faced criticism over a public spat with a British diver who worked on the Thai soccer team rescue. Shares of the electric car maker were down 3.5 percent in late-morning trading at $307.82 on news that Musk could face a libel suit over the episode.Musk attacked British diver Vern Unsworth, who had dismissed the Tesla chiefs efforts to help the rescue mission for the 12 boys as a PR stunt in a widely seen interview on CNN.Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Elon Musk beat back a defamation claim from a British cave expert who sued the billionaire CEO over a tweet in which Musk labeled Vernon Unsworth a pedo guy.A federal jury in Los Angeles December 6 took about an hour to return a verdict that said Musks insult fell short of defamation.We were pretty much unanimous from the word go, said Carl Shusterman, a 70-year-old immigration lawyer who served on a jury for the first time.Shusterman said the verdict was straight-forward because it wasnt clear if the tweet was actually about Unsworth, since Musk didnt name him. The judge told the jurors that was one of the elements required to establish defamation, Shusterman said.My faith in humanity has been restored, Musk said after the verdict.Its another win for Musk, 48, whos managed to get out of legal trouble relatively unscathed. Musk agreed to step down from his role of chairman of Tesla for three years in 2018 to settle a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit over a tweet the regulator said misled investors. But hes run Tesla and SpaceX as usual.Unsworth had sought US$190 million in damages for the harm he claimed to have suffered from the tweet, and to punish Musk. Musk said he fired off the tweet in anger after Unsworth insulted him and his team in a television interview.I respect the jurys decision, Unsworth said after the verdict. Ill take it on the chin and move on.His lawyers were less gracious, repeatedly referring to Musk as a billionaire bully.It was the first time that Musk has been called as a witness at a trial, despite numerous legal spats, including one with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over a tweet the regulator said misled investors.Musk told the jury the tweet aimed at Unsworth shouldnt have been taken literally and was sent because the caver insulted his effort to help rescue members of a Thai soccer team from a flooded cave in 2018.The rescue effort had riveted the attention of the worlds media. Musk and engineers at his companies prepared a mini submarine, built with rocket parts, to help. The kids, aged 11 to 16, were saved without the use of the sub.The high-profile effort from the celebrity CEO drew derision from Unsworth, who knew the caves well and helped in the rescue effort. He told CNN that Musk could stick his submarine where it hurts and that it had no chance of working.Musk responded on Twitter, calling Unsworth a pedo guy and adding: Never saw this British expat guy who lives in Thailand (sus) at any point when we were in the caves. Sus meaning suspect, or suspicious.Later, he asked why Unsworth hadnt sued him. Musk also hired a private investigator to dig into Unsworths personal life and leak information to British tabloids.Unsworth, a financial consultant who divides his time between England and Thailand, described to the jury the effect the tweet had on him.When you combine sus and pedo guy, I took it as I was being branded a pedophile, Unsworth said on Wednesday. I feel vulnerable and sometimes, when Im in the U.K., I feel isolated.Musk, who had apologized to Unsworth on Twitter, did so again in court. But Unsworth told the jury he had nothing to apologize for to Musk.Musk told the jury he found Unsworths comments in the CNN interview wrong and insulting especially to his team which he said worked hard to help in the rescue effort and so he fired back.Neither man impressed Shusterman, the juror. He said there was no need for Unsworth to put down Musks mini submarine, and Musks response was equally immature.I felt it was like two junior high school students fighting, Shusterman
Origin: Elon Musk beats back defamation lawsuit over insulting tweet