Musk settles defamation suit brought by Indian-American Sikh
Darpan News Desk IANS, 03 May, 2023 12:08 PM
New York, May 3 (IANS) Tesla CEO Elon Musk has agreed to pay $10,000 to settle a defamation case brought against him by Indian-American Sikh critic and independent researcher, Randeep Hothi.
Hothi, a doctoral student in Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan, had filed a defamation case against Musk in 2020, alleging that the billionaire businessman falsely accused him of actively harassing and "almost killing" Tesla employees.
Following a lengthy and hard-fought litigation, in March 2023, Musk asked Hothi to settle the case.
"This case was about taking a stand, not seeking fame or money. I feel vindicated," said Hothi, announcing that he accepted Musk's settlement offer in a statement.
"I brought this case to defend my work, clear my name, and send a message... I believe I've accomplished that, thanks in no small part to Musk, whose own behaviour over the last year has highlighted the need to scrutinise his every word and deed."
D. Gill Sperlein, one of Hothi's lawyers, said: "Last year, Musk famously promised that he would never 'settle an unjust case'. Yet, he has asked Hothi to accommodate him. We welcome Musk's belated acknowledgment that this case was just."
Hothi locked horns with Tesla after he created the @skabooshka Twitter account where he fact-checked Musk and his company's published claims regarding the electric vehicle manufacturer's automation, technology and production processes.
Beginning in 2018, Hothi, donning the role of a social activist, observed Tesla's production at its Fremont, California-based factory.
He also documented the construction of Tesla's Model 3 assembly line tent, sharing photos of his Twitter followers.
In April 2019, Tesla sought a restraining order against Hothi, alleging that the latter struck an employee with his car in a Tesla factory parking lot -- an accusation that Hothi vehemently denied.
When Hothi and his legal team successfully obtained a court order requiring Tesla to hand over video evidence of the alleged encounter, Tesla abruptly dropped its lawsuit in July 2019.
Yet the following month, Musk e-mailed a reporter accusing Hothi of "actively harassing" and "almost kill(ing)" Tesla employees.
That remark was later published and amplified to hundreds of thousands of people on Twitter.
Musk's accusations prompted an outpouring of public support for Hothi, including from whistleblowers, researchers, journalists, and critics.
In August 2020, represented by Sperlein, Hothi filed a defamation lawsuit against Musk based on his remarks.
Musk attempted to dispose of the case by arguing that his accusations were protected speech, and hence should be dismissed under California's anti-SLAPP law.
In January 2021, the trial court rejected Musk's arguments, holding that Hothi "has demonstrated the probability that he can succeed on the merits of his claim" because Musk's remarks were tantamount to an accusation of crime, and thus legally constituted defamation per se.
Hothi accepted Musk's settlement offer on April 30, and is expected to request dismissal of the case on May 1, pursuant to the terms of the settlement agreement.
The man from the eastern Germany city of Magdeburg, whose name was not released in line with German privacy rules, is said to have received up to 90 shots against COVID-19 at vaccination centers in the eastern state of Saxony for months until criminal police caught him this month, the German news agency dpa reported Sunday.
The jump in reported deaths, up from 33,000 last week, was due mainly to an accounting change; WHO noted that countries including Chile and the United States altered how they define COVID-19 deaths.
More than a dozen United Sikhs volunteers from the US, Germany and the UK have set up a relief base camp in Medyka (Poland) close to the Ukrainian border. At least 1,00,000 refugees have been served by the United Sikhs' humanitarian mission till date and the relief work is continuing.
As coronavirus infections rise in some parts of the world, experts are watching for a potential new COVID-19 surge in the U.S. — and wondering how long it will take to detect. Despite disease monitoring improvements over the last two years, they say, some recent developments don't bode well.
The U.S. will likely see an uptick in cases caused by the omicron descendant BA.2 starting in the next few weeks, according to Dr. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute.
