Elon Musk Loses Legal Battle With Indian American Student

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What has happened?

Tesla CEO Elon Musk lost the round one of battle with the critic of his company who had sued him for
A California judge has denied SpaceX founder’s request to reject the lawsuit filed by Randeep Hothi, a Tesla short-seller
Who had said in August 2020 that Musk had defamed him and even hampered his reputation by writing an email claiming that Hothi has “almost killed Tesla employees”.
The Tesla CEO had attempted to overturn the lawsuit but his remained unsuccessful.

Judge Julia Spain of Alameda County Superior Court in California rejected Musk’s claims that the lawsuit was baseless and an attempt to stifle his free speech.
In a ruling published on Wednesday, the judge said there were grounds for a trial, adding that Hothi could win.
Spain ruled that Musk’s statements about Hothi were not protected under California’s Anti-SLAPP statute,
Which allows lawsuits to be dismissed quickly if they interfere with the defendant’s free speech,
As Tesla did not demonstrate that Musk’s statements were made in connection with a matter of public interest.

Randeep Hothi is a University of Michigan graduate student who drew Elon Musk’s wrath at least two years ago,
Following two separate incidents including Hothi’s harmless claims.
Firstly, in February 2019, Hothi was confronted by a security guard when he went to do research reportedly at Tesla sales centre in Fremont, California.
According to Hothi’s suit, it was an “attempt to gather information about Model 3 production.“
He claims Tesla recognized his license plate and sent a security guard to confront him.
Secondly, in April 2019, Hothi said he was driving when he had spotted a Tesla test car with roof-mounted cameras used for capturing video and audio for the company’s autopilot feature.
Houthi took photos of it and posted online.

The incidents led Tesla to file a temporary restraining order against Hothi in April 2019,
Which claimed that Hothi had hit the security guard with his car at Tesla’s Fremont factory and
Had endangered those driving the Tesla car by “swerving dangerously close to the vehicle.”
Tesla’s suit also claimed that Hothi had trespassed on Tesla property multiple times.
Attorney and fellow Tesla short-seller Lawrence Fossi helped Hothi raise more than $100,000 for his defense, calling him “a seeker of truth who has done valuable work.“
But Tesla dropped the suit last year after a judge ordered the company to provide evidence to back up its claims.

Hothi claimed that Musk had unleashed an online hate campaign against him and filed the lawsuit in August in Alameda county superior court.
But, Tesla CEO asked the judge to strike the lawsuit on the grounds that his remarks were a matter of public interest.

Elon Musk had years-long war with short-sellers.
Musk publicly despises short-sellers, investors who attempt to profit by betting on Tesla stock taking a dive in value.
He has frequently railed against the practice, taunting those who engage in it with actual pairs of shorts,
Even going as far as to produce Tesla-branded, red, satin short shortsand selling them in Tesla’s online store.