Randep Hothi - The Indian American Who Sued Elon Musk For Defamation
A California state judge dismissed Musk's claim that Randeep Hothi's case was unfounded and should be thrown out as an effort to silence the free speech of the billionaire.
Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer of Tesla Inc, failed to turn the tables on a business critic who sued him for defamation.
A California state judge dismissed Musk's claim that Randeep Hothi's case was unfounded and should be thrown out as an effort to silence the free speech of the billionaire.
Twitter
Hothi, a graduate student from the University of Michigan known on Twitter as '@skabooshka', attracted Musk's wrath two years ago after two incidents, both of which were harmless, Hothi says.
In the first one, Hothi was approached by a security guard in February 2019 when he turned up at the Tesla sales centre in Fremont, California¡ªto do research, he says.
In the second, Hothi said he was driving in April 2019 when he spotted a Tesla test car and took pictures of it, which he posted online later.
Reuters
In an email to an online tech editor, Musk complained about Hothi, describing him as a liar and accusing him of "almost" killing Tesla employees when he tried to drive away from the sales centre.
Hothi alleged that in the lawsuit he filed in August in Alameda County Superior Court, Musk caused an online hate campaign against him.
Musk asked the judge to strike the lawsuit on the grounds that what he said involved a matter of public interest - making it protected speech - and that Hothi couldn't prove the statements were untrue or made with malice, Bloomberg reports.
Tesla
Judge Julia Spain concluded in a brief written decision that there are issues sufficient for a trial as to whether Musk's claims were valid. She also said Hothi had shown that he would be able to win the case.
Which side are you on?
With inputs from Bloomberg
