Elon Musk sued by cave rescuer he called a "child rapist" then dared to sue

The defamation lawsuit will extend an episode that has made even Musks biggest supporters squirm, with several inside Tesla, Musks electric automaker, questioning why he remains so committed to doubling down on what they regard as a self-inflicted embarrassment.

Unsworth is seeking more than $75,000 to compensate for the worldwide damage he suffered following Musks attacks, uttered by Musk in July to his more than 22 million Twitter followers. Unsworth, through his attorney, said Musks claim was baseless and lacked evidence.

Elon Musk falsely accused Vern Unsworth of being guilty of heinous crimes, Unsworths attorney, L. Lin Wood, said in a statement. Musks influence and wealth cannot convert his lies into truth or protect him from accountability for his wrongdoing in a court of law.

A similar lawsuit was filed in London, where libel laws are more plaintiff-friendly. Unsworth is British, though, and Musk's remarks are completely bonkers, so it's not as if Unsworth is forum-shopping.Even if Musk has some oppo-research dirt on Unsworth he's been sat on all this time, and there's no evidence at all that he has, what's the point? Musk's behavior has the air of pathology about it in general, and this only reminds everyone of the whole of it.