Controversial Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) chief executive Elon Musk was sued Monday for libel and slander in US district court in California by the British rescue diver he called a "pedo guy" and "child rapist," a report by CNBC said.
British cave explorer Vernon Unsworth, who played a role in the rescue of a trapped Thai boys soccer team, is seeking US$75,000 in compensatory damages along with an injunction barring Musk to "refrain from making further publication of the False and Defamatory Accusations," according to court documents.
Musk has been a controversial figure over the past month, facing a lawsuit over accusations he misled investors when he announced plans in early August to take the company private.
READ: Tesla chief Elon Musk faces lawsuit from short-seller Andrew Left of Citron Research
"Musk's influence and wealth cannot convert his lies into truth or protect him from accountability for his wrongdoing in a court of law," the lawsuit by Unsworth said.
Respectively, Musk accused Unsworth of being a pedophile, child rapist, child sex trafficker, the husband of a 12-year old child bride and a liar.
Unsworth said all those accusations are not true. There was no immediate reaction from Musk for comment, CNBC said.