Elon Musk defamation trial goes to jury after plaintiff's lawyer calls him 'billionaire bully'

Reuters - A federal jury in Los Angeles began deliberating on Friday (December 6) to decide whether Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk defamed a British cave explorer whose lawyer said the "billionaire bully" should pay at least $190 million for branding his client a "pedo guy" on Twitter. The defense countered that the plaintiff, Vernon Unsworth, had failed to show evidence of any harm and that Musk should not be held liable for what amounted to an off-the-cuff insult that stemmed from an argument and that no one took literally. Musk, who had taken the witness stand in his own defense during the first two days of the trial but skipped the testimony of others, returned to court on Friday and sat expressionless through the closing arguments of both sides. The case is believed to be the first major defamation lawsuit by a private individual to go to trial over tweets.