Elon Musk reportedly victorious in 'pedo guy' defamation case

A jury ruled he's not liable for damages, reporters said.

Corinne Reichert Senior Writer

Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.

Expertise News, mobile, broadband, 5G, home tech, streaming services, entertainment, AI, policy, business, politics Credentials

I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.

See full bio

Carrie Mihalcik Former Managing Editor / News

Carrie was a managing editor at CNET focused on breaking and trending news. She'd been reporting and editing for more than a decade, including at the National Journal and Current TV.

Expertise Breaking News, Technology Credentials

Carrie has lived on both coasts and can definitively say that Chesapeake Bay blue crabs are the best.

See full bio

Corinne Reichert

Carrie Mihalcik

Dec. 6, 2019 5:08 p.m. PT

2 min read

CEO Elon Musk was found not liable for damages in a defamation case, according to a Buzzfeed News reporter sitting in on the trial Friday afternoon. The case was brought against him by British cave diver Vernon Unsworth, whom Musk called a "pedo guy", last year. Jurors found in favor of the billionaire, according to a reporter from The Verge. A jury of five women and three men deliberated for under an hour before making the decision, CNET sister site CBS News reported.

In July 2018, Musk had called Unsworth, a diver who helped rescue a boys' soccer team trapped in a Thai cave, a "pedo guy" on Twitter after the diver criticized Musk's proposed submarine rescue plan. Unsworth sued Musk for defamation in September 2018, saying the tweet damaged him by associating his name with pedophilia.

Musk apologized for the tweet during the first day of the trial, held this week in the US District Court in Los Angeles, and on Wednesday he reiterated that "pedo guy" was meant as an insult, not a statement of fact, according to CNBC.

Musk added he wasn't aware of his precise net worth, but estimated it as being around $20 billion.

On Wednesday, Unsworth testified that he took Musk's tweet literally and felt "humiliated" and "ashamed," CNN reported. "I'm not sure of how many times it was repeated, but it was essentially my name was being tied to being a pedophile," Unsworth reportedly said Wednesday.

During closing arguments Friday, Unsworth's attorney reportedly called Musk a "billionaire bully" and suggested the Tesla CEO pay $190 million in damages. "He dropped a nuclear bomb on Vernon Unsworth," Reuters reported the attorney arguing.

Attorneys for Musk and Unsworth didn't respond to requests from CNET for comment earlier in the week.

As he left court Friday, Musk reportedly said, "my faith in humanity is restored."

Originally published Dec. 6, 2:55 p.m. PT. Update, 5:08 p.m.: Adds details from CBS News.