Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/09/17/elon-musk-sued-by-cave-rescuer.html
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My friend has something to say to Elon.
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He should have gone for at least a million.
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I suspect keeping the damage claim low is at least partly an attempt to ward off the “just trying to get rich” attacks that will likely still inevitably gush forth from Musk’s defenders. $75K is basically “dude, WTF” money.
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WTF is all I can make of it. Musk seems to just be aching for the pointless fight he started to become more problematic for him. Bizarre…
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Is there some reason he might want to drive the stock price down temporarily? If that’s the case, his recent behavior seems more rational. I’m not clear why he would want to do that though.
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Musk’s behavior has the air of pathology about it in general, and this only reminds everyone of the whole of it.
I’m withholding judgment until he builds a giant electric airplane out of wood.
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Even if Musk has some oppo-research dirt on Unsworth he’s been sat on all this time…
I get that Musk is a rich weirdo, but why on earth would he have compiled a dossier on this guy? What would have prompted him to investigate the guy in the first place, allowing him to conclude these nasty things?
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Excellent! Now perhaps an investigation will be mounted as to the truth of these accusations!
And then maybe prominent bloggers will cease making implicit claim to the omniscience that would be required in order to them to actually know the truth of this case. That’d be refreshing. 
That’s the point; he very likely didn’t… which means that Musk started an ugly potentially life-damaging rumor because the diver in question insulted him.
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I had assumed that, due to the cost of legal proceedings, there was no way the suing would actually happen. But since it has, I hope Musk gets absolutely eviscerated in court. Unless, of course, he has hard evidence that this guy really is a dastardly pedophile. Not holding my breath.
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Yes, I understand that. I was wondering why anyone would even suggest that Musk conveniently had this opposition research on the diver all ready to go.
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John McAfee is Musk’s endgame.
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Because excuses are the tools of those who are incompetent.
They are manufactured reasons to explain someone’s conduct, and some people would rather grasp at straws rather than accept the most logical and viable explanation.
And Musk has a strong ‘cult of personality’ going; a base of supporters who tend to deify him, and consider any negative criticism of the man to be some sort of attack that extends to them personally.
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Angry that cave rescuer Vernon Unsworth mad fun of his ridiculous rescue submarine, Elon Musk called him a “pedo” and, later, a “child rapist,” then dared him to sue over the remarks.
Typo alert, @beschizza
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I suppose it’s also low enough that it’s below what the legal defense costs would be and also the “pain point” where Musk can easily say, “OK, fine, fuck it, I was wrong,” and pay up out of petty cash.
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There’s a surprisingly sane reason he might not have, which is that (usually) the amount you’re asking for has to be proportional to the damage done to you. And in libel suits, how believable the accusation is has a lot to do with how damages are calculated. And THAT in turn hinges on how many people would actually believe the libeler.
In other words, the suit might be limited by the fact that almost nobody is taking Musk seriously.
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Yeah, there is that, too. Still, regardless of the actual reasons for setting the damages so low, I’d just like to see Musk actually see some consequences for this. It was outrageous.
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