4 ms·
> And they suggested that Unsworth was looking for a payday in court I think this is the key issue. $190m is clearly exorbitant for a defamation lawsuit. Sham
by threeseed 7y ago
> And they suggested that Unsworth was looking for a payday in court
I think this is the key issue. $190m is clearly exorbitant for a defamation lawsuit.
Shame because Musk crossed the line and an example needed to be set that corporate executives should be held to account for their actions.
- WalterBright 7y agoJust because Musk is a corporate executive doesn't mean he loses the right to insult others.
- threatofrain 7y agoThe problem for me was this was right on the borderline because I was anticipating that Elon Musk really did know "something".
- WalterBright 7y agoIf Musk really did know something, his insult would have included that something.
- threatofrain 7y agoI had an uncertain read because I could believe that Elon with his vast resources knew something, and I couldn't understand why Elon would risk complicating his leadership of his companies without some grounding.
- basch 7y agoIf I understand correctly, in the Ninth Circuit, the fame and affluence of the speaker does not matter, but instead the notoriety of the alleged defamed.
- urbanjunkie 7y agofuck off pedo guy.
- skuthus 7y agoWasn't this trial an example of him being held accountable?
- mywittyname 7y agoThe jury can award an amount they feel is appropriate. There are actual, measurable damages involved in a case like this, then there are punitive damages that are awarded with the intent to deter future behavior like this. EM's net worth is in the $20 billion neighborhood. Knocking off a few zeros, that's like a $190 judgement against a person who's worth $20,000.
- ecpottinger 7y agoI agree, I am a Elon fan. But if the lawsuit was a million dollars or less Elon should have to pay, 190 million is sheer greed. Even if the term is different where he came from, he knows international communications can be tricky. Just ask the people Tesla fans have made fun of for trying to sell the ETron in France.
- Udik 7y agoA million is peanuts for Musk. Would you feel deterred if you had to pay $1 every time you want to defame someone?
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- notus 7y agoI don't think it was the key issue. Look at defamation suits in the US, they are notoriously hard to prove defamation. Here are some examples that highlight how hard it is for a plaintiff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_defamation_law#Notable_cases_since_1970 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_defamation_law#N...
- dojosensei 7y agoHow did Musk cross the line? Because he hurt your feelings? That's no justification for being held "accountable." Your feelings are not a standard.
- archagon 7y agoA massively popular and powerful public figure calling a layman a pedo, doubling down several times, and pretending they have proof is not enough? No, you'd rather pretend that OP's imagined feelings are unreasonable, not this billionaire's temper tantrum. Shame on you.
- dojosensei 7y agoHe's insulting some guy who was being rude to him. He can do that if he wants whether he's a powerful public figure or not. It's called free speech. If you don't like it, go cry to your mommy little soy boy.
- dang 7y agoPersonal attacks will get you banned here. Please review the rules and stick to them when posting to HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- dang 7y agoPlease don't do call-out-style shaming comments on HN. That online culture doesn't lead anyplace good. This site is for curious conversation: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.
- dang 7y agoPlease don't make unduly personal remarks in arguments here. It just leads to flamewars, which we're trying to avoid. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html