[purple_ducks]

MMmmm. Would have thought that was not a defense for him seeing as he then went on to call him a child rapist:

> “I suggest that you call people you know in Thailand, find out what’s actually going on and stop defending child rapists, you fucking asshole,” Musk wrote in the first message. “He’s an old, single white guy from England who’s been traveling to or living in Thailand for 30 to 40 years, mostly Pattaya Beach, until moving to Chiang Rai for a child bride who was about 12 years old at the time.”

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/elon-musk-thai-...

[gbronner]

Musk apparently hired an 'investigator' who turned out to be a conman who came up with this tidbit.

He had no actual knowledge that the guy wasn't a child rapist, and he did use reasonable care to verify his "facts", so it wasn't willful defamation.

[purple_ducks]

> He had no actual knowledge that the guy wasn't a child rapist

What?! I can't even..

More importantly, he had no actual knowledge that the guy _was_ a child rapist

[foldr]

>and he did use reasonable care to verify his "facts"

No, he made the claim before he hired the investigator.