Attorney Suggests $190 Million Settlement for Man Elon Musk Allegedly Branded ‘Pedo Guy' on Twitter
"When Elon Musk tweets something it goes around the world," Wood said. He added: "It can never be deleted"
By Brian Melley •
Apu Gomes/Getty Images
Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. leaves the US District Court, Central District of California through a back door on Dec. 3, 2019, in Los Angeles. The defamation lawsuit against Tesla CEO Elon Musk began in Los Angeles over calling British cave explorer Vernon Unsworth “‘Pedo Guy” and rapist. Unsworth was one of the first cave divers to reach the trapped boys in the flooded Tham Luong caves in Thailand.
An attorney told a Los Angeles federal jury Friday it would be reasonable to award $190 million in damages to a British cave explorer who is suing Elon Musk for allegedly branding him as a pedophile during a Twitter spat.
Attorney Lin Wood said the suggested sum includes $150 million in punitive damages.
Musk, who testified his stock in Tesla and SpaceX is worth about $20 billion, contends that he was not being literal when he referred to Vernon Unsworth as a "pedo guy."
The case was expected to go to the jury later in the day after closing arguments end.
David McNew/Getty Images
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base carrying the SAOCOM 1A and ITASAT 1 satellites, as seen during a long exposure on Oct. 7, 2018, near Santa Barbara, California.
David McNew/Getty Images
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base carrying the SAOCOM 1A and ITASAT 1 satellites, as seen on Oct. 7, 2018, near Santa Barbara, California.
David McNew/Getty Images
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, right, separates from the space craft behind the rocket trail after launching from Vandenberg Air Force Base carrying the SAOCOM 1A and ITASAT 1 satellites, as seen on Oct. 7, 2018, near Santa Barbara, California. After launching the satellites, the Falcon 9 rocket successfully returned to land on solid ground near the launch site rather than at sea. The satellites will become part of a six-satellite constellation that will work in tandem with an Italian constellation known as COSMO-SkyMed.
Mark Rogerson
A view of the SpaceX rocket launch Sunday Oct. 7, 2018.
Jennifer Flory
A view of the SpaceX rocket launch Sunday Oct. 7, 2018 from Ventura.
Jennifer Flory
A view of the SpaceX rocket launch Sunday Oct. 7, 2018 in Ventura.
Paula Danilczyk
A view of the SpaceX rocket launch Sunday Oct. 7, 2018 from Newport Beach.
Bruce Reigner
A view of the SpaceX rocket launch Sunday Oct. 7, 2018 from Covina.
Peter Binazeski
A view of the SpaceX rocket launch Sunday Oct. 7, 2018 from Signal Hill
Robin Ward
A view of the SpaceX rocket launch Sunday Oct. 7, 2018 from Upland.
Courtney And Travis
A view of the SpaceX rocket launch Sunday Oct. 7, 2018.
Kristin Odermatt
A view of the SpaceX rocket launch Sunday Oct. 7, 2018 from Westchester.
Daniel Barbier
A view of the SpaceX rocket launch Sunday Oct. 7, 2018 from San Jacinto.
Robyn Hernandez
A view of the SpaceX rocket launch Sunday Oct. 7, 2018 from Apple Valley.
Roberta Perkins
A view of the SpaceX rocket launch Sunday Oct. 7, 2018.
Mayor of LA
View of the sky over Los Angeles during SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launch.
Conan Nolan
View of the sky over Los Angeles during SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launch.
Kirsten Schieler
untitled
James Q.
A view of the SpaceX rocket launch Sunday Oct. 7, 2018 from Lancaster.
Joel Grover
The SpaceX launch on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018, as seen from Hancock Park.
The spat happened as Unsworth was involved in the rescue of a youth soccer team and its coach from a flooded cave in Thailand.
Unsworth had ridiculed Musk's effort to help in the rescue by having engineers at his companies, including Space X and The Boring Co., develop a mini-submarine to transport the boys. Despite working around the clock to build the sub, Musk arrived in Thailand late in the rescue effort and the craft was never used.
Unsworth called it nothing more than a "PR stunt" and said Musk could stick the sub "where it hurts."
In his closing argument, Wood called Musk a "billionaire bully" who lied when he claimed "pedo guy" only means "creepy old man" and when he apologized to Unsworth.
The biggest lie, Wood said, was when Musk accused Unsworth of being a pedophile.
"When Elon Musk tweets something it goes around the world," Wood said.
He added: "It can never be deleted."
Unsworth testified that he had to sue Musk for defamation because if he didn't, the allegation would seem true.
In his testimony, Musk insisted that the phrase he tweeted off-the-cuff "was obviously a flippant insult, and no one interpreted it to mean pedophile."
