Vernon Unsworth is suing Elon Musk claiming defamation after the Tesla CEO called him a “pedo guy” on Twitter in 2018 in the wake of an interview in which the British diver branded Musk’s submarine sent to Thailand for a cave rescue a publicity stunt.
Elon Musk testified that he is “financially illiquid,” a lawyer for the British diver Vernon Unsworth wrote in a legal filing, Bloomberg reported.
Musk is worth $23.6 billion, though a substantial majority of his wealth comes in the form of stock in SpaceX (worth $14.6 billion) and Tesla (worth $8.8 billion), according to Bloomberg.
Unsworth, 64, who helped rescue 12 Thai boys from an underwater cave in 2018, is suing Musk claiming defamation after being called a “pedo guy” on Twitter last year by the Tesla and SpaceX CEO.
The tweet followed a CNN TV interview in which Unsworth referred to the miniature submarine Musk sent to Thailand to aid in the rescue of a boys’ football team and their coach from Tham Luang Nang Non cave as potentially ineffective and no more than a publicity stunt.
Unsworth said the mini-sub “had absolutely no chance of working” because Musk “had no conception of what the cave passage was like”.
Elon Musk’s tweet was subsequently deleted, with the business magnate issuing an apology to Unsworth.
Musk, 48, said “pedo guy” was “a common insult used in South Africa when I was growing up.”
SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk speaks after announcing Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa as the first private passenger on a trip around the moon, Monday, Sept. 17, 2018, in Hawthorne, Calif
He said the expression was “synonymous with “creepy old man” and referred to a person’s appearance and demeanor.
The defamation trial is scheduled for 2 December.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
