, 19 tweets, 5 min read Read on Twitter
26/ Kind readers, please find my first thread that ends with /25. Then pick it up here.
27/ The defamation lawsuit, Unsworth v Musk, is actually two lawsuits. One in the US suing for US damages. A second in the UK suing for the rest of the world? Why so complicated? I've explained it all before. Just, please, trust me, it enhances Unsworth's chances of max damages.
28/ The case was originally set for trial in October. Musk obtained an agreed continuance after he dismissed the Hueston law firm and engaged Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. A nastier bunch, but by no means smarter. Trial setting in December.
29/ Discovery is completed. The last exit ramp before trial is a summary judgment motion where one argues that based on all the uncontroverted evidence, the plaintiff must lose.
30/ Musk's latest attorneys, evidently fearful of the wrathful rages of their cocaine-loving client, filed such a motion, foolish though it be. The argument, essentially, is: Yeah, I was mistaken in my accusations, but I honestly believed all that stuff, so how can it be malice?
31/ There are ever so many problems with that argument. First, why, after the initial "sus pedo guy" tweets, which were forgivable, & after the sort-of apology, does Musk hire a shady scumbag investigator peddling plainly salacious nonsense, and not even bother to check him out?
32/ Then, if "pedo guy" is merely an innocuous slur from Musk's South African youth, and not an accusation of pedophilia, then why was he so determined to dig up some evidence of pedophilia?
33/ Also, there are so, so many inconsistencies in Musk's testimony. One lie races around the corner & runs into another lie running the opposite way. @orthereaboot has several examples. Start here:
34/ Every good trial lawyer, preparing his client to be deposed, begs the client to directly answer the question in as few words as possible. Don't volunteer anything unnecessary. But Musk can't control himself, and (probably while fibbing) volunteers incriminating information:
35/ Nice, Elon. On Aug 15, 2018, you were concerned Unsworth might be another Epstein. Except at that time, no one was discussing Epstein. Whom, it turns out, you had met before. And whom, per Epstein, you would immediately again meet, seeking Saudi money: nytimes.com/2019/08/12/bus…
36/ So many dots to connect there. Soon, I promise. I anticipate graphical assistance from @TESLAcharts.
37: More indication of what a terrible liar Musk is (making it up on the fly, and inadvertently admitting he was determined to smear Unsworth, first & foremost):
38/ Musk grievously wronged Vern Unsworth. He now pretends, in his pending motion, it wasn't with malice. But is he penitent? Nope. Lin Wood, urging Musk to make things right before Unsworth was forced to sue, is accused of trying to "shake [Musk] down."
39/ The excerpts from Musk's deposition, that supposedly support his summary judgment motion, are a horror show. They put Musk in a terribly unflattering light. Why did his attorneys agree to file this? I'll tell you why: Musk insisted. And they cower in fear of his famous rage.
40/ As a witness, Elon, you are every trial lawyer's nightmare. Pontificating instead of simply answering directly. Inventing things. Twisting yourself in your lies. Justifying yourself at every turn. Holier than everyone. If you go to trial, you're likely to get destroyed.
41/ Where in the heck is the $TSLA Board of Directors? Yes, sure, this is a suit against Musk, not Tesla. But to resolve it, Musk will need lots of money. That means margin borrowing. And Musk's borrowing on margin has become a terrible peril to Tesla.
42/ A responsible Board would be actively involved in settlement negotiations, pressing Musk hard to swallow the bitter pill of a disastrous settlement instead of a catastrophic judgment. But, of course, as always, such a Board is MIA.
43/ Good luck, Elon, you hopeless, helpless congenital liar. You're about to get the thrashing you richly deserve. To file this motion was terribly ill-advised. To proceed to trial will be completely insane. But, that's you, isn't it?
In a nutshell, it's far easier to prove defamation in the UK, but you can collect on your UK judgment in the US only if you can show that you could have proved defamation under the US's much higher bar, which has been set high (thankfully) by our First Amendment.
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