Yahoo News Elon Musk Fails To Get Defamation Lawsuit Against Him Dismissed
A Texas judge struck down a motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday, allowing the lawsuit that accuses Musk of falsely identifying a Jewish man as a participant in a neo-Nazi brawl to move forward.
Musk was hit with a lawsuit in October after using his massive platform on X, formerly Twitter, to falsely suggest a 22-year-old recent college graduate from California was a federal agent involved in a neo-Nazi brawl that took place in Oregon last year. You can read the full details of the lawsuit here.
“Looks like one is a college student (who wants to join the govt) and another is maybe an Antifa member, but nonetheless a probable false flag situation,” Musk wrote in a post on X that is at the center of the lawsuit.
The recent graduate, Ben Brody, wasn’t even in the same state when the brawl occurred and said he was forced to flee his home after receiving a torrent of harassing messages and threats after Musk posted his speculation. Brody is seeking more than $1 million in damages.
Brody’s attorney, Mark Bankston, posted a statement on X about Wednesday’s ruling by state District Judge Maria Cantú Hexsel in Austin.
“Elon Musk’s attorneys called it ‘a shakedown,’ but I am proud to announce that today a Texas judge has rejected Musk’s attempts to dismiss the lawsuit I brought on behalf of Ben Brody, a Jewish college student who was falsely accused of being a neo-Nazi rioter,” Bankston wrote.
Musk’s attorney, Alex Spiro, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wednesday’s ruling is the latest defeat for Musk related to the suit. In April, Musk’s deposition in the case became public and was first reported on by HuffPost.
In his testimony, Musk admitted he has a “limited understanding” of the lawsuit against him and said he did no research in determining whether Brody was involved in the brawl after seeing the accusations on X. Musk also admitted to using a burner account on X where he role-played as his toddler son.
“Do you like Japanese girls?” one of the posts read.
“I wish I was old enough to go to nightclubs. They sound so fun,” read another.
Spiro attempted to keep the deposition from the public.
“I’m asking that this transcript be marked as confidential,” Spiro said at the end of Musk’s deposition, according to the transcript. “That’s what I’m asking for, OK?”
Despite his efforts, a judge denied Spiro’s multiple emergency motions to keep the deposition sealed.
