Elon Musk Wins "Pedo Guy" Case Against Thai Cave Hero

A Los Angeles jury found Elon Musk not liable for insults lobbed at British caver Vernon Unsworth on Twitter on Friday. Unworth, who famously helped save 12 boys from a flooded cave in Thailand last year, sought $190 million in damages stemming from a series of insulting tweets by Musk.

Unsworth filed a $190 million suit against Musk in September 2018, following a series of tweets in which the Tesla-founder called Unsworth a "pedo guy." Unsworth claims hurt his reputation and job prospects. The court found "pedo guy" to be synonymous with "creepy guy" and not meant to be taken literally.

"My faith in humanity is restored," Musk told reporters outside the courtroom.

Attorneys for Mr. Unsworth expressed dismay over the verdict.

"This verdict sends a signal, and one signal only – that you can make any accusation you want to, as vile as it may be and as untrue as it may be, and somebody can get away with it," said Lin Wood, Unsworth's lawyer.

The spat between the two men began in 2018, as Musk and Unsworth both vyed to rescue a soccer team trapped in a flooded cave in northern Thailand. After Musk sent a small submarine he and his Tesla team designed, Unsworth called the effort a "PR stunt."

Unsworth later told CNN that Musk could "stick his submarine where it hurts."

In response, Musk said that he would make a video of the submarine working. He said, "We will make one of the mini-sub/pod going all the way to Cave 5 no problemo. Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it."

According to the BBC, Musk's defense explained that Musk had already expressed regret, explaining the concept of "JDart."

JDart, they write, means, "a Joke that was badly received, therefore Deleted, with an Apology and then Responsive Tweets to move on from the matter."

Additionally, Musk's team argued that they did not know of Unsworth's role in the rescue when he made the tweet. Musk, they say, assumed he was "just some random creepy guy."

Unsworth claims that the tweets were hurtful to both his reputation and his ability to find work.

"It feels very raw," Unsworth told reporters. "I feel humiliated. Ashamed. Dirtied. Effectively, from day one, I was given a life sentence without parole. It hurts to talk about it. I find it disgusting. I find it very hard to even read the word, never mind talk about."