A court in California has ruled Elon Musk did not defame British rescue diver Vernon Unsworth in June 2018 when he published a tweet calling him 'pedo guy'. 

Unsworth had argued the statement had made him feel "humiliated, ashamed" after Musk shared the message with his 29 million Twitter followers. The Brit sought $190m from the American mogul for damage to his reputation. 

The row took place while Unsworth was in Thailand, shortly after he and other cave divers had rescued 12 young boys and their football coach. The team were trapped when the cave they were exploring unexpectedly filled with water, cutting off their exit. 

Musk had sent a miniature submarine to Thailand in what the inventor said was an attempt to help rescue the team. However, the experienced British diver dismissed the American's attempt as a "PR stunt". 

Elon Musk argued in court that the words used in his response were common in South Africa, where he grew up. Musk's defense lawyer Alex Spiro argued the insult was part of a "JDART", a "joking, deleted, apologized for, responsive tweet". 

This defense worked, as jurors spent less than an hour discussing the evidence given in the four-day trial, and found Musk hadn't libelled Unsworth. 

Speaking to US media after the case, jury foreman Joshua Jones explained the decision by saying: "I think they tried to get our emotions involved in it". 

Unsworth spoke briefly outside the court, telling reporters "I respect the jury's decision. I'd just like to say my legal team have been absolutely awesome. I came here for a verdict, unfortunately it's not gone the way I expected but I respect the jury's decision and thank them for that".

Unsworth was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth II for his part in the rescue.