'Thought He Was Just Some Random Creepy Guy,' Musk Testifies In Defamation Case

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday testified in the defamation case filed against him by a U.K. caver in Los Angeles, Reuters reported.

What Happened

The caver Vernon Unswoth is suing Musk for calling him a “pedo guy,” among other things in a series of disparaging tweets targeted at him.

The billionaire entrepreneur defended himself in court, saying that he didn’t mean his words to be taken literally.

The controversy started when Vernon criticized Musk’s attempt at rescuing children stuck in a cave in Thailand by sending submarines.

In an interview with CNN, Vernon called Musk’s efforts a “PR stunt,” and asked him to “stick his submarines where it hurts.”

“I thought he was just some random creepy guy,” Musk said, according to Reuters, adding that he thought Vernon was unrelated to the rescue.

Musk said that Vernon launched “an unprovoked attack” against him for what a “good-natured attempt” at helping the kids, Reuters reported.

The Tesla CEO drew attention to Unsworth’s own comments and said that he also didn’t take Unsworth’s call for him to “sodomize” himself literally. 

Musk also apologized to Unsworth in open court, Reuters said — pointing out that he had also previously apologized to Unsworth in a tweet and the pretrial hearing.

Price Action

Tesla’s shares closed 0.40% higher at $336.20 on Tuesday.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia