Mark Brake/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Elon Musk was sued on Monday for defamation by a British diver he accused of being a “pedo.”
A lawyer for the diver, Vernon Unsworth filed a lawsuit against the SpaceX and Tesla Founder, over tweets Musk sent during the rescue of a Thai boys soccer team in June and July.
“Elon Musk falsely accused Vern Unsworth of being guilty of heinous crimes. Musk’s influence and wealth cannot convert his lies into truth or protect him from accountability for his wrongdoing in a court of law,” his lawyer Lin Wood, wrote in a statement emailed to ABC News.
The suit, which blasts the “unlawful, unsupportable, and reprehensive acccusations” by Musk that Unsworth “is a pedophile and child rapist,” was filed in a California court.
Musk resides in California and his two companies, SpaceX and Tesla are headquartered in the state.
The battle of words dates back to earlier this summer when a team of 12 Thai soccer players and their coach were trapped in a cave in Northern Thailand. The story caught Musk’s attention, who criticized Unsworth and the rescue workers via his Twitter account.
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