A libel case brought against Tesla CEO Elon Musk by critic Randeep Hothi is coming to an end, reportedly costing the billionaire big ten.
Lawyers representing Hothi, a vocal member of the TSLAQ short-selling community on Twitter, said in a statement that Musk filed to settle the nearly three-year-old case in March. Hothi tweeted Monday that he accepted the alleged offer, “for a modest $10k.”
The Tesla skeptic added that “look[s] looking forward to getting a check from him in the mail.”
hothi rose to prominence as a skeptic of Tesla’s gigafactory plans and “fully autonomous driving” technology. In 2019, Tesla filed for a permanent restraining order against Hothi, alleging that he had “stalked, harassed and endangered” employees while driving a Model 3.
In addition, Tesla said that Hothi had invaded and installed cameras at its Fremont, California facility.
In response, adefense fund” for Hothi on GoFundMe aimed to raise $100,000 and ultimately raised $229,592. Tesla soon dropped his case without publicly disclosing evidence to back up his claims.
However, the saga took another turn about a month later, when Musk claimed in an email to another vocal critic of the company, Aaron Greenspan, that Hothi had “almost killed Tesla employees.Greenspan released the CEO’s email, and Hothi later sued for defamation in California’s Alameda Superior Court.
Hothi’s lawyers claimed that Musk’s comment “prompted an avalanche of hateful responses on Twitter,” saying the CEO’s supporters accused “Hothi of being a liar, a murderer, a terrorist, and a deranged maniac,” according to a complaint. August 2020. Lawyers representing Musk petitioned the court to dismiss the case, but discovery was ultimately made.
About a year ago, Musk tweeted that Tesla would “never give up/settle an unfair case against us, even if we probably lose.” Hothi’s lawyers cited this tweet in a statement Monday, saying, “We appreciate Musk’s belated acknowledgment that this case was fair.”
Court documents show that Hothi’s lawyers today filed a motion to dismiss the case.
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