Musk to pay $13,000 to settle defamation lawsuit by Tesla critic

CALIFORNIA – Mr Elon Musk agreed to pay US$10,000 (S$13,360) to settle a defamation lawsuit by a Tesla critic who became a hero to short-sellers with his Twitter posts and then accused the chief executive of smearing him with false allegations, according to lawyers for the plaintiff.

The accord, announced months ahead of a scheduled trial, marks a rare truce for the world’s second-richest person.

Mr Musk, the chief executive officer of SpaceX and Twitter Inc in addition to Tesla, is both a magnet for and a source of extensive litigation, and has shown a penchant for taking his showdowns to trial instead of settling. 

Mr Musk’s tangle with Mr Randeep Hothi grew out of the graduate student’s prolific tweeting about Tesla’s troubles in 2018 ramping up its Model 3 sedan production. 

While many critics of the electric-car maker are finance types who pour over the company’s earnings calls and regulatory filings, Mr Hothi made a name for himself under the Twitter handle “Skabooshka” by monitoring production output using cameras and drones and catching the attention of several hedge funds with his on-the-ground research. 

In 2019, Tesla sought a restraining order against Mr Hothi over claims he stalked its factory and harassed its employees – including dangerously swerving his car towards a Model 3 that was on a expressway test drive and injuring a Tesla security guard in a hit-and-run on company property. 

Mr Hothi, who grew up in Fremont near the factory, denied those allegations, and Tesla dropped its court complaint. 

But Mr Hothi claimed in a 2020 defamation suit that Mr Musk’s public criticism of him triggered an online hate campaign in which he was accused of being “a liar, a murderer, a terrorist, and a deranged maniac”.

Mr Hothi said in a statement issued by his lawyers on Monday that the settlement achieves his goal to clear his name. He also tweeted about being vindicated. 

Mr Musk and his lawyers, Mr Adam Cashman and Mr Adam Mehes, did not immediately respond to e-mails and calls seeking comment.

Mr Gil Sperlein, one of Mr Hothi’s attorneys, said in the statement that his client accepted Mr Musk’s offer to settle the case.

A court filing on Monday indicates Mr Hothi is dropping the case, but does not disclose the terms of settlement.

The case was scheduled to go to trial in 2023 in Alameda County Superior Court in Hayward after a judge and an appeals court rejected Mr Musk’s argument that Mr Hothi’s complaint was baseless and should be thrown out as an attempt to silence the billionaire’s free speech. 

Mr Musk also lost an attempt to redirect blame for the alleged defamation to a data journalist who publicly posted an email in which the Tesla CEO accused Mr Hothi of actively harassing and “almost killing” Tesla employees. 

The Tesla CEO, who has has churned through several general counsels, has vowed to build a “hardcore litigation department” at the company. 

Among his other court battles, Mr Musk in February defeated Tesla investors who took him to trial over claims they were defrauded by his infamous 2018 tweets about taking the company private.

In 2019, Mr Musk prevailed after a jury trial in a defamation case brought by a British caver whom Mr Musk called a “pedo guy” while they were trading insults online. 

The Hothi settlement was reported earlier by the Los Angeles Times. BLOOMBERG