Tesla CEO Elon Musk will have to go to court after calling one of the British divers who rescued a group of Thai boys from a cave a paedophile.
The tech billionaire called Vernon Unsworth a “paedo” on Twitter after the diver dismissed Musk's attempts to help rescue the soccer players as a "PR stunt."
Mr Unsworth is seeking £58,000 in damages from Mr Musk, as well as seeking a court order stopping Mr Musk from making further disparaging comments.
The entrepreneur had attempted to have the case dismissed but a federal court judge rejected the complaint and set a trial for October 22.
Mr Unsworth claims the Tesla chief executive defamed him with "unlawful, unsupportable and reprehensible accusations", according to Sky News.
The diver co-led the operation to rescue 12 Thai boys and their football coach from Tham Luang cave in 2018.
Mr Musk claimed his insult was protected from legal action, but the judge overseeing the case disagreed.
This is the second time in less than a year that Musk's comments on Twitter have landed him in legal troubles.
Last year, Musk and Tesla reached a $40 million settlement of allegations that he misled investors with a tweet declaring he had secured financing for a buyout of the electric car maker.
He then had to go to court earlier this year to defend himself against assertions that he had violated an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission about his tweeting.
The young footballers and their coach were trapped in the cave complex last June after a sudden flood blocked their exit.
After 18 days in darkness, they were saved by a team of medics and divers led by British experts and Thai Navy SEALs.
All 12 members of the The Wild Boars football team and their coach survived the dramatic feat.
However, one diver, former Thai Navy SEAL Saman Kunan, died after delivering oxygen tanks to the boys during previous rescue attempts.
