Elon Musk Beats Back Defamation Lawsuit Over Insulting Tweet

By Edvard Pettersson, Kelly Gilblom and Dana Hull | December 9, 2019

  • December 9, 2019 at 2:49 pm
    Joseph S Harrington, CPCU says:
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    This outcome is unsatisfying, although it appears that the plaintiff’s attorneys overplayed their hand and sought to cash in on appeals to jurors’ emotions rather than concentrate on the offense.

    Anyone, billionaire or not, should expect to be held accountable for something they say in a medium that allows an accusation to be accessed and transmitted around the world. That applies for the internet platform, as well as the commenter. After all, IJ facilitates discussion of risk issues without allowing commenters to post unfounded accusations against individuals.

    A reasonable award in such a case would take into consideration that Mr. Musk deleted the tweet and apologized. A reasonable award would also consider the extent to which a defamation suit itself contributed to the notoriety of the alleged offense. As it is, it appears that the $190 million demand may have distorted the search for justice, and prevented the plaintiff from realizing it.



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