• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

TechEngage®

Connecting mankind with technology

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cryptocurrency
  • How-to
  • Roundups
  • Science
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Space
  • Apps
  • More
    • Opinion
    • Noteworthy
    • Culture
    • Events
    • Deals
    • Startups
      • Startup Submissions
  • Videos
  • Tools
TechEngage » News » Internet

Elon Musk faces a lawsuit because of his insensitive tweets

Nouman S Ghumman Follow Nouman S Ghumman on Twitter December 29, 2018

Shares27FacebookTweetPinLinkedInPrintEmail

Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk is under serious political stress these days. Musk is facing a defamation lawsuit filed against him by Vernon Unsworth, the British cave rescuer who accused Musk of calling him a pedophile. Recently, Elon Musk filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

An argument between Elon Musk and Unsworth began soon after the rescuer gave an interview to CNN. The interview was conducted to praise the diver for his exceptional efforts to save a soccer team of 12 boys and their coach who were trapped in the cave in Thailand. The British diver said in his interview that a submarine provided by Musk and his team was completely useless and it was not at all helpful in the rescue operation.

“He had no conception of what the cave passage was like. The submarine, I believe, was about 5ft 6in long, rigid, so it wouldn’t have gone around corners or round any obstacles.”

Also, he described the Musk’s effort to rescue as a “PR stunt.”

The submarine was 5-6 feet long, and rigid, which means it could not have navigated around obstacles or tight turns inside the cave. The statement seemed to infuriate Musk, who took on Twitter to respond and called Unsworth “pedo guy.” He also said, “bet ya a signed dollar it’s true.”

Soon after this tweet, the British Diver Unsworth declared legal action against Tesla’s CEO saying:

“I believe he’s called me a pedophile. I think people realize what sort of guy [Musk] is.”

When asked if he was willing to take action against Musk, Unsworth replied: “Yes, it’s not finished.”

Soon after Unsworth filed his lawsuit Musk took Twitter to apologize for what he said. The apology came the very next day after Tesla’s share prices dropped. The apology was visible to only a few followers of Musk’s official Twitter account. The rest were not able to see it. Musk clarified that his statements were due to Unsworth’s statement about the small submarine, saying that it has no chance of working and Musk should stick his submarine where it hurts.

Musk admitted that:

“his actions against me do not justify my actions against him and for that, I apologize to Mr. Unsworth and to the companies that I represent as a leader. The fault is mine and mine alone.”

Nonetheless, his actions against me do not justify my actions against him, and for that I apologize to Mr. Unsworth and to the companies I represent as leader. The fault is mine and mine alone.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 18, 2018

But things didn’t sit well with a lot of Twitter followers. Some even accused Musk racism.

Musk has now filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming:

“ Statements on un-moderated internet forums are presumptively opinion.”

We don’t know yet if the motion to dismiss will be successful. Of course, the statement Musk made about Unsworth on Twitter is not at all credible, but whether it is protected by free speech or was damaging in some legal way remains to be seen.

You can view the entire movement that Musk issued here.

Filed Under: Internet Tagged With: Elon Musk, Lawsuit

Related Stories

  • Amazon had another record-breaking holiday season

    Amazon had another record-breaking holiday season

  • Tesla Delivers Over 310,048 Electric Vehicles in the First Quarter of 2022

    Tesla Delivers Over 310,048 Electric Vehicles in the First Quarter of 2022

  • Tesla appoints new chairman to oversee Elon Musk

    Tesla appoints new chairman to oversee Elon Musk

Shares27FacebookTweetPinLinkedInPrintEmail

About Nouman S Ghumman

The writer holds an LLM degree in International Commercial Law from the City University of London. He is a Managing Partner at SG Advocates & Legal Consultants. He is also the Vice President and Associate General Counsel at TECHENGAGE. He can be reached at nouman@sgadvocates.com

Reader Interactions

Share Your Thoughts Cancel reply

Please read our comment policy before submitting your comment. Your email address will not be used or published anywhere. You will only receive comment notifications if you opt to subscribe below.

Primary Sidebar

Become a contributor

We are accepting contributor applications. All applications will be decided in 3 days after applying. To learn more visit the contributors page.
TextSheet Alternative

6 Top Alternatives to Textsheet for 2025

Muhammad Zeshan Sarwar October 5, 2024

battery draining apps

Top 10 battery draining apps to avoid 2025

Muhammad Abdullah October 5, 2024

Recent Stories

  • 6 Top Alternatives to Textsheet for 2025
  • Top 10 battery draining apps to avoid 2025
  • The Benefits of Having a Small Air Compressor for Flat Tires
  • 4 Best Free VPNs for 2025
  • 9 Best Calendar Apps in 2025

Footer

Discover

  • About us
  • Newsroom
  • Staff
  • Advertise
  • Send us a tip
  • Startup Submission Questionnaire
  • Brand Kit
  • Contact us

Legal pages

  • Reviews Guarantee
  • Community Guidelines
  • Corrections Policy and Practice
  • Cookies Policy
  • Our Ethics
  • Disclaimer
  • GDPR Compliance
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Must reads

  • Best AirPods alternatives on Amazon
  • Best PC monitors for gaming on Amazon
  • Best family board games
  • Best video doorbells without subscription
  • Best handheld video game consoles
  • Best all-season tires for snow
  • Best mobile Wi-Fi hotspots
  • Best treadmills on Amazon

Download our apps

TechEngage app coming soon on App Store

© 2024 TechEngage®. All Rights Reserved. TechEngage® is a project of TechAbout LLC.

TechEngage® is a registered trademark in the United States under Trademark Number 6823709 and in the United Kingdom under Trademark Number UK00003417167. It is also ISSN protected under ISSN 2690-3776 and has OCLC Number 1139335774.

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy