Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has won this battle.
A Los Angeles jury on Friday ruled that Musk’s use of Twitter to suggest a British spelunker was a pedophile didn’t amount to defamation.
Musk faced defamation charges in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles for calling a UK-based caver Vernon Unsworth “pedo guy.”
“Evidence is going to be through Mr. Musk testifying that in fact, Mr. Musk didn’t call him a pedophile. Mr. Musk deleted the tweet, apologized, and moved on,” Musk’s lawyer Alexander Spiro told the court.
Musk has defended himself saying that “pedo guy” is a common insult in South Africa, where he grew up, and that Musk didn’t intend to accuse Unsworth of pedophilia with the words.
“The jury got it right,” Spiro said in a statement.
“My faith in humanity is restored,” Musk said after the verdict was delivered, according to CNBC.
Tesla’s stock closed Friday’s session at $335.89 per share.
