INVC NEWS
New York ,
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has agreed to pay $10,000 to settle a defamation lawsuit filed against him by Randeep Hothi, an independent researcher of Indian-American Sikh origin. Hothi, a doctoral student at the University of Michigan, accused Musk of falsely accusing him of actively harassing and nearly killing Tesla employees. The lawsuit was filed in August 2020, and after a lengthy legal battle, Musk proposed a reconciliation offer, which Hothi accepted. The settlement was announced in March 2023.
Hothi stated that the lawsuit was not about seeking fame or money, but rather about clearing his name and defending his work. Hothi had created a Twitter account to fact-check claims made by Musk and Tesla about the electric vehicle maker’s automation, technology, and production processes. In early 2018, Hothi observed the production process at Tesla’s California factory as a social worker.
Tesla had sought a restraining order against Hothi in April 2019, alleging that he had struck an employee with his car in a Tesla factory parking lot. Hothi denied the allegation, and Tesla dropped its lawsuit in July 2019 after Hothi obtained a court order requiring Tesla to provide video footage of the alleged incident. In August 2019, Musk emailed a reporter, accusing Hothi of actively harassing and nearly killing Tesla employees. The comment was later published and widely circulated on Twitter.
Hothy received support from whistleblowers, researchers, journalists, and critics of Musk’s allegations. D. Gil Spelin, one of Hothy’s attorneys, said that Musk had previously stated that he would not settle an unjust case, yet he proposed a settlement in this instance. Spelin welcomed Musk’s acknowledgment that the case was justified, albeit belatedly.
In conclusion, Musk has agreed to pay $10,000 to settle a defamation lawsuit filed against him by Randeep Hothi, an independent researcher. Hothy accused Musk of falsely accusing him of actively harassing and nearly killing Tesla employees. Hothy accepted Musk’s reconciliation offer, stating that the lawsuit was about defending his work and clearing his name. Support for Hothy poured in from whistleblowers, researchers, journalists, and critics of Musk’s allegations.
