Tesla CEO Elon Musk Settles Defamation Lawsuit, Agrees To Pay $10,000

Musk's settlement brings an end to a legal battle that has been ongoing since 2019.

Elon Musk has agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit for $10,000 brought by Randeep Hothi, a critic of Tesla, who had accused Musk of making false allegations against him. Hothi confirmed that he had accepted the settlement offer made by Musk, despite Musk's previous tweet in which he stated that he would "never surrender/settle an unjust case" against him. Hothi released a statement through his lawyers, in which he said that the case was about taking a stand, rather than seeking fame or money, and that he felt vindicated by the outcome.

Hothi gained a following on Twitter under the handle “Skabooshka,” where he criticised the company's rocky production of its Model 3 sedan in 2018. Hothi grew up near Tesla’s factory in Fremont, where he used cameras and drones to monitor production output. His on-the-ground research caught the attention of several hedge funds.

In 2019, Tesla sought a restraining order against Hothi over claims that he stalked its factory and harassed its employees. Tesla alleged that Hothi had dangerously swerved his car towards a Model 3 that was on a freeway test drive and had injured a Tesla security guard in a hit-and-run on company property. However, Hothi denied all the allegations made by Tesla, and the company subsequently dropped its court complaint against him.

In 2020, Hothi brought his defamation suit against Musk, claiming that Musk’s public criticism of him triggered an online hate campaign in which he was accused of being "a liar, a murderer, a terrorist, and a deranged maniac."

The settlement brings an end to a legal battle that has been ongoing since 2019. While the outcome may not have been what either party had hoped for, it does offer a resolution to a long-standing dispute.

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