Tech billionaire Elon Musk stoked controversy once again on Tuesday, after he questioned whether it was “strange” that the British diver he appeared to accuse last month of being a pedophile still has not sued him.

In a series of back-and-forth tweets with a Twitter user named Yoda, Musk asked: “You don’t think it’s strange he hasn’t sued me? He was offered free legal services.”

The tweet was in response to the user after he said it would have been “wonderful” if the SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO applied his “dedication to facts and truth” when he called British diver Vern Unsworth — who helped rescue a Thailand soccer team trapped in a cave — a “pedo.”

You don’t think it’s strange he hasn’t sued me? He was offered free legal services. And you call yourself @yoda … — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 28, 2018

Musk asked the Twitter user if he had investigated the diver, to which he sarcastically replied, “the world should police your lack of filter and everything that comes after. That’s extremely convenient.” – READ MORE

Early last week, Elon Musk took to Twitter and said that funding to take Tesla private at $420/share was secured. In the wake of Musk’s tweet, Tesla shares immediately jumped by more than 10%, effectively putting some serious pressure on Tesla short sellers in the process. As we would later find out, funding for Musk’s plan was not, in fact, secured in any sense of the word.

Before long, accusations that Musk engaged in blatant stock manipulation began making the rounds. Not surprisingly, the bizarre tweet put Tesla’s mercurial CEO in hot water, with the SEC last week even launching a preliminary investigation into the matter. The SEC, though, could be the least of Tesla’s worries.

According to Charles Gasparino of Fox Business News, Tesla board members are far more anxious about what a deluge of class action lawsuits against the company would mean for the company’s bottom line. Gasparino notes that Tesla’s legal team has determined that the fallout from Musk’s tweets could cost the company millions in legal fees and potentially billions in damages from investor lawsuits. Interestingly enough, Tesla has reportedly already hired three outside law firms to handle impending suits.

“One of their main worries,” Gasparino said earlier today, “in addition to the SEC, is the private litigation, and they’re starting to think about how much potential liability exists in the private litigation if investors sue, claiming that they lost money based on Musk’s tweet.” – READ MORE