<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/tesla-cybertruck-orders-near-150000-just-days-after-chaotic-launch-264195">Tesla Inc</a>'s chief executive, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/musk-suggests-tesla-has-200000-orders-for-cybertruck-264354">Elon&nbsp;Musk</a>, will&nbsp;testify&nbsp;in&nbsp;his&nbsp;own&nbsp;defence&nbsp;against a&nbsp;defamation&nbsp;lawsuit brought by a British cave explorer,&nbsp;Musk's&nbsp;lawyer&nbsp;said on Monday in US&nbsp;District Court in Los Angeles.

Vernon Unsworth is suing&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;for calling him a "<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-elon-musks-pedo-tweet-british-rescuer-threatens-legal-action-152054">pedo guy</a>."&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;posted the tweet after Unsworth accused&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;in a CNN interview of grandstanding by offering to help Unsworth's diving team rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach from a Thailand cave in July 2018.

"Evidence is going to be through Mr&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;(testifying) that in fact, Mr&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;didn't call him a paedophile. Mr&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;deleted the tweet, apologised and moved on," Alexander Spiro,&nbsp;Musk’s attorney, told the court.&nbsp;

There was no sign either side was interested in settling the case before a&nbsp;trial&nbsp;scheduled to begin on December&nbsp;3 in the Los Angeles federal court.

Unsworth will also&nbsp;testify, said&nbsp;his&nbsp;attorney, L&nbsp;Lin Wood. He will provide evidence of damages by “talking about&nbsp;his&nbsp;worries,&nbsp;his&nbsp;anxieties,&nbsp;his&nbsp;concern by being branded a paedophile,” Wood told the court.

US&nbsp;District Judge Stephen Wilson called for the second day of pretrial&nbsp;hearings on Tuesday to thrash out what evidence can be used in next week's civil&nbsp;trial.

Last week, Wilson rejected&nbsp;Musk's attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed and also ruled that Unsworth was not a public figure - which makes it easier to prove&nbsp;defamation.

Unsworth can now win if he shows that&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;acted negligently when making&nbsp;his&nbsp;comments.

Musk&nbsp;had argued that Unsworth became a public figure because of&nbsp;his&nbsp;help with the high-profile rescue and needed to prove "actual malice."

Musk&nbsp;has apologized for the "pedo guy" comment, saying it was a common insult in South Africa where he was raised, and that he did not intend to accuse Unsworth of paedophilia.

Unsworth has denied the allegations and has said he had shared a house in the Thailand countryside with a 40-year-old woman who&nbsp;owned a nail salon.

The dispute between the two men arose after the search team decided not to use a mini-submarine offered by&nbsp;Musk's SpaceX rocket company to help with the rescue. Unsworth told CNN that the offer was a "PR stunt" and that&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;could "stick&nbsp;his&nbsp;submarine where it hurts."

Unsworth is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.

Musk&nbsp;recently settled a&nbsp; US&nbsp;Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit over&nbsp;his&nbsp;Twitter use.

The case is Unsworth v&nbsp;Musk, US&nbsp;District Court, Central District of California, Number&nbsp;18-08048.

Tesla Inc's chief executive, Elon Musk, will testify in his own defence against a defamation lawsuit brought by a British cave explorer, Musk's lawyer said on Monday in US District Court in Los Angeles.

Tesla Inc's chief executive, Elon Musk, will testify in his own defence against a defamation lawsuit brought by a British cave explorer, Musk's lawyer said on Monday in US District Court in Los Angeles. Vernon Unsworth is suing Musk for calling him a "pedo guy." Musk posted the tweet after Unsworth accused Musk in a CNN interview of grandstanding by offering to help Unsworth's diving team rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach from a Thailand cave in July 2018. "Evidence is going to be through Mr Musk (testifying) that in fact, Mr Musk didn't call him a paedophile. Mr Musk deleted the tweet, apologised and moved on," Alexander Spiro, Musk’s attorney, told the court. There was no sign either side was interested in settling the case before a trial scheduled to begin on December 3 in the Los Angeles federal court. Unsworth will also testify, said his attorney, L Lin Wood. He will provide evidence of damages by “talking about his worries, his anxieties, his concern by being branded a paedophile,” Wood told the court. US District Judge Stephen Wilson called for the second day of pretrial hearings on Tuesday to thrash out what evidence can be used in next week's civil trial. Last week, Wilson rejected Musk's attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed and also ruled that Unsworth was not a public figure - which makes it easier to prove defamation. Unsworth can now win if he shows that Musk acted negligently when making his comments. Musk had argued that Unsworth became a public figure because of his help with the high-profile rescue and needed to prove "actual malice." Musk has apologized for the "pedo guy" comment, saying it was a common insult in South Africa where he was raised, and that he did not intend to accuse Unsworth of paedophilia. Unsworth has denied the allegations and has said he had shared a house in the Thailand countryside with a 40-year-old woman who owned a nail salon. The dispute between the two men arose after the search team decided not to use a mini-submarine offered by Musk's SpaceX rocket company to help with the rescue. Unsworth told CNN that the offer was a "PR stunt" and that Musk could "stick his submarine where it hurts." Unsworth is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. Musk recently settled a US Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit over his Twitter use. The case is Unsworth v Musk, US District Court, Central District of California, Number 18-08048.

Musk to testify in own defence in defamation trial, his lawyer says

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Musk to testify in own defence in defamation trial, his lawyer says