EXCLUSIVE: Elon Musk vows to fight British diver's defamation suit, blasting his 'devious' attempt to 'milk media coverage' and 'reap a financial windfall' following spat where billionaire called him a 'pedo guy' after Thai cave rescue mission
- Elon Musk has vowed to fight British diver Vernon Unsworth's defamation suit against him, according to court papers filed on Monday in California
- Unsworth is a diver and was part of a group who rescued a soccer team of 12 boys and a coach who got trapped for 18 days in a Thai cave last July
- Musk and his SpaceX engineers built a small submarine to help with the rescue but the device wasn't used and Unsworth called it a 'PR stunt' on CNN
- The billionaire retaliated by calling Unsworth a 'pedo guy' on Twitter and later a 'child rapist' in a background email to a Buzzfeed reporter
- Musk's lawyer Alex Spiro argues Unsworth is not only making a money grab, but is trying to 'milk media coverage' over the case
- Spiro says the suit is unfounded because Unsworth's reputation is 'no worse off', pointing out that he was made a member of the Order of the British Empire
- A federal court judge in Los Angeles set an October 22 trial date last Friday
Billionaire Elon Musk has vowed to fight a British diver's defamation suit against him, labeling the case a 'devious' attempt to 'reap a financial windfall', according to newly filed court papers obtained by DailyMail.com.
The 47-year-old fired back at Vernon Unsworth, who is suing Musk for defamation after the SpaceX CEO called him a 'pedo guy' and 'child rapist' after Unsworth helped rescue 12 boys and their coach stuck in a Thai cave last July.
Alex Spiro, Musk's newly retained attorney, argues Unsworth, 63, is not only making a money grab with his suit, but is trying to 'milk media coverage' for himself, according to the filing on Monday in California.
Musk's lawyer writes the lawsuit is unfounded because Unsworth's reputation is 'no worse off' and points out Unsworth wasn't as directly involved with the rescue mission as he had made it seem.
Elon Musk fired back at British diver Vernon Unsworth (right), who is suing him for defamation, saying the 63-year-old is not only making a money grab, but is trying to 'milk media coverage' for himself, according to court papers filed on Monday in California
Unsworth filed suit against Musk last September after a 'verbal spat'. The incident kicked off after Musk and his SpaceX engineers built a small submarine and shipped it to Thailand to help with the cave rescue mission. The device wasn't used and Unsworth called it a 'PR stunt' during a television interview. In response, Musk labelled Unsworth a 'pedo guy' in a tweet to his 22 million Twitter followers (pictured)
Musk's answer to Unsworth's lawsuit, which was filed last September, begins by labeling the case as 'sad' and says the 'verbal spat' was 'inexplicably initiated' by Unsworth.
The British financial broker, who is from outside of London but now lives in Thailand, is demanding at least $75,000 in compensatory damages plus unspecified punitive damages from Musk.
Unsworth is an experienced diver and was part of a team who successfully rescued a soccer team of 12 boys and their coach who got trapped for 18 days in a Thai cave last July.
But according to Musk's court filing, 'Mr. Unsworth was not a member of the dive team who risked their lives to rescue the students. He participated by sharing his knowledge of the caves.
'After the rescue succeeded, he wanted the acclaim and media spotlight to be pointed at him.'
Last year in an effort to get involved with the rescue mission, Musk and his SpaceX engineers had built a small submarine and shipped it to Thailand to help.
The device ended up not being used and Unsworth called it a 'PR stunt' during a television interview.
In response, Musk labelled Unsworth a 'pedo guy' in a tweet to his 22 million Twitter followers, but later deleted the tweets.
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Unsworth is an experienced diver and was part of a team who successfully rescued a soccer team of 12 boys and their coach who got trapped for 18 days in a Thai cave last July. But according to Musk's court filing, 'Mr. Unsworth was not a member of the dive team who risked their lives to rescue the students. He participated by sharing his knowledge of the caves.' Pictured: Unsworth with Prime Minister Theresa May at a reception for the rescuers
Musk later apologized on Twitter, claiming his words were 'spoken in anger.' The tech boss had his motion to have the lawsuit dismissed denied in April
Although later apologizing, Musk wrote a background email to a Buzzfeed journalist, telling the reporter to investigate Unsworth and 'stop defending child rapists'.
Musk denies the allegations of defamation, saying he had retracted his statements and said Unsworth's reputation has not been damaged in the slightest since the spat.
The billionaire's lawyer writes: 'Mr. Unsworth and his reputation are no worse off. After Mr. Musk’s remarks, Mr. Unsworth continued to receive the adulation he craved from his involvement in the rescue.
'He continues to give speeches about his work before enthusiastic audiences.
'And in December 2018, the government of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II announced that she would be making Mr. Unsworth a member of the Order of the British Empire.
DailyMail.com revealed last Thursday that Musk had tapped Robert Kraft's lawyer Spiro to defend him in his defamation case
'No, this lawsuit is not about restoring anything Mr. Unsworth claims to have lost.
'The formerly unknown Mr. Unsworth remains the utterly undamaged Mr. Unsworth.'
The filing continues: 'In reality, this case represents Mr. Unsworth’s devious desire to milk the media coverage over what he instigated to reap a financial windfall from Mr. Musk, despite the absence of any injury.
'Mr. Musk will fight that.'
On Friday, a federal court judge in Los Angeles set an October 22 trial date in a filing that rejected Musk's attempt to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Unsworth.
Musk attempted to have the case thrown out last month by arguing that his insult was protected under the First Amendment, but the judge overseeing the case disagreed.
Unsworth is seeking more than $75,000 in damages from Musk, a multi-billionaire. The suit also seeks a court order prohibiting Musk from making any further disparaging comments.
DailyMail.com revealed last Thursday that Musk had tapped Robert Kraft's lawyer Spiro to defend him in his latest case.
The billionaire filed an application for the non-resident attorney to appear in his California-based case against Unsworth, according to court papers filed to the Southern District of New York last week.
Spiro, 36, is a high profile attorney and is currently representing Patriots owner Robert Kraft in a separate case after the 77-year-old was charged with solicitation after he allegedly payed for sex acts at a Florida massage parlor earlier this year.
Kraft has pleaded not guilty but issued a public apology for his actions.
