Musk settles defamation suit after saying he would never “surrender an unjust case”

Elon Musk’s ten-billion-dollar defamation case against critic Randeep Hothi is nearing its end.

In March, Hothi’s lawyers said Musk asked to settle the nearly three-year-old case. “For a modest $10k,” Hothi tweeted on Monday.

The Tesla skeptic said he “look[s] forward to receiving a check from him in the mail.”

Hothi became famous by criticizing Tesla’s gigafactory and “full self-driving” tech. Tesla sought a permanent restraining order against Hothi in 2019 for “stalking, harassing, and endangering” Model 3 drivers.

Tesla also claimed Hothi trespassed and installed cameras at its Fremont, California, facility.

A GoFundMe “defense fund” for Hothi raised $229,592 after aiming for $100,000. Tesla withdrew without providing evidence.

A month later, Musk wrote to another company critic, Aaron Greenspan, that Hothi had “almost killed Tesla employees.” Hothi sued Greenspan in Alameda Superior Court for defamation after Greenspan published the CEO’s email.

According to an August 2020 complaint, Musk’s supporters accused Hothi of being a liar, murderer, terrorist, and deranged maniac. Musk’s lawyers requested dismissal, but discovery proceeded.

Musk tweeted last year that Tesla would “never surrender/settle an unjust case against us, even if we will probably lose.” “We welcome Musk’s belated acknowledgment that this case was just,” Hothi’s lawyers said on Monday, citing this tweet.

Hothi’s lawyers requested dismissal today, according to court documents.