LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Attorneys for tech tycoon Elon Musk are seeking to have a Los Angeles judge dismiss a libel lawsuit brought by a British diver who helped rescue a dozen boys from a flooded cave in Thailand, according to court papers obtained today. Vernon Unsworth sued Musk in September, alleging that the eccentric billionaire had used Twitter to publish ``false and heinous accusations of criminality against (Unsworth) to the public,'' according to the complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court.
In a motion to dismiss filed Wednesday, Musk's attorneys claim their client's series of ``barbs'' -- in which Unsworth was called a ``pedo guy'' and a ``child rapist'' -- were ``gratuitous'' and not intended to be taken seriously. Musk apologized on Twitter to Unsworth in July as part of a reply to somebody else. At the time, Musk wrote that his accusations against the diver ``were spoken in anger,'' adding that ``his actions against me do not justify my actions against him, and for that I apologize to Mr. Unsworth and to the companies I represent as leader. The fault is mine and mine alone.''
The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000 in damages and a judge's order stopping Musk from making further allegations. An April 1 hearing is set in the case.
Musk's comments were sparked by an interview Unsworth gave to CNN about the rescue in which he criticized Musk's efforts to help. Musk's Hawthorne-based rocket company, SpaceX, had built a small submarine which was shipped to Thailand to help with the rescue. Unsworth said the sub -- which was not used by rescuers -- was merely a ``p.r. stunt'' that had ``absolutely no chance of working'' to free the members of the Thai youth soccer team. The diver also told CNN that Musk could ``stick his submarine where it hurts.''
In a series of tweets to his 22.6 million followers, Musk responded by calling Unsworth a ``pedo guy'' and a ``child rapist.''Unsworth's lawsuit states that Unsworth ``is not a pedophile. Mr. Unsworth has never engaged in an act of pedophilia. Mr. Unsworth is not a child rapist.''A team of divers and rescue workers brought the boys to the surface on July 10.
Last week, Musk's Boring Company unveiled its 1.14-mile-long test tunnel in Hawthorne, a prototype of an underground transportation system Musk has been touting as a way to avoid the Southland's ``soul-destroying traffic.''Musk said he planned to build an approximately 3.6-mile Dugout Loop underground tunnel that could run from Dodger Stadium to property owned by The Boring Co. near the Vermont/Sunset, Vermont/Santa Monica or Vermont/Beverly Metro Red Line stations. Musk's company recently scrapped plans for a tunnel beneath Sepulveda Boulevard in West Los Angeles amid a legal challenge over the project's environmental review.
Over the summer, Tesla experienced mass layoffs, the loss of several top executives and a slowdown in production. In response to a customer complaint about slow delivery of the electric cars, Musk tweeted that ``we've gone from production hell to delivery logistics hell,'' but the company was ``making rapid progress.''In an interview with the comedian Joe Rogan in September, Musk appeared to smoke marijuana and wield a samurai sword.