During a legal questioning pertaining to a lawsuit against him for allegedly endorsing a false conspiracy theory, billionaire Elon Musk recognised that he’s made some mistakes. The lawsuit accused him of incorrectly labeling a Californian man as an undercover government operative masquerading as a right-wing fighter. However, Musk countered that he didn’t believe his actions had caused considerable harm to the 22-year-old Jewish man who has charged him with defamation.
In his deposition, given under oath and made public this past Monday notwithstanding his lawyer’s wish for it to remain undisclosed, Musk mooted the need to consider potential inaccuracies in his speech, against the risk of inhibiting the freedom of speech that forms the bedrock of our democratic constitution.
The claimant, Ben Brody, had filed a lawsuit in a Texan court last October, after Musk promoted a social media post likening Brody’s Instagram profile to that of a white supremacist clashing violently with the Proud Boys group in Portland, Oregon during a city Pride event.
Mr Brody, a political science major at the University of California, Riverside, aiming to work in the public sector, was purportedly identified through his profile. Conspiracy theorists used this to suggest that the altercation had been arranged by government forces to vilify conservative factions – an accusation similarly leveled in relation to the Capitol riot of January 6th, 2021 and multiple mass shootings.
Brody claimed in his lawsuit that Musk’s comments led to him and his family experiencing harassment from hostile individuals. He also expressed fears about potential negative impact on his future career.
This marks the first instance of Musk being hit with a defamation lawsuit, following his acquisition and subsequent renaming of Twitter as X in 2022, for which he paid $44 billion.
In his deposition from March 27th, Musk stated that he had no personal knowledge of Brody, neither did he bear any animosity towards him.
“My aim is purely to see the X platform established as the most reliable resource for facts online,” he communicated to Mr Brody’s solicitor, Mark Bankston, as expressed in a 115-page dialogue record. “To establish the actuality of matters, you – there’s usually a discussion. This exchange can swing either way, but it remains an active conversation.”
At a different juncture during the interrogation, Mr Musk admitted that he can often be his own largest hurdle.
Mr Bankston inquired about a statement he confessed to his biographer, Walter Isaacson, saying, “I’ve shot myself in the foot so frequently, I should invest in some Kevlar boots.”
“Could you confirm that as of the previous summer, you were aware that you had found it challenging to control your actions on Twitter?” the solicitor asked.
“I could, you know, I am guilty of a significant number of self-created problems,” Mr Musk proclaimed. – Bloomberg