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Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has reportedly settled a defamation case brought against him by Randeep Hothi. The case has been ongoing for nearly three years. 

Hothi is a member of the TSLAQ short-seller community on Twitter and rose to prominence as a skeptic of Tesla's gigafactory plans.  And was a vocal critic of Tesla’s "full self-driving" technology.

In 2019, Tesla sought a permanent restraining order against Hothi, accusing him of "stalking, harassing, and endangering" employees while they were driving in a Model 3.

Tesla also accused Hothi of trespassing on its Fremont, California, facility and installing cameras around the premises. In response, a "defense fund" for Hothi was set up on GoFundMe, which raised over $229,592. 

A defamation case begins with an email

The case took an unexpected turn when Musk claimed in an email to Aaron Greenspan, owner of the legal search engine PlainSite, that Hothi had "almost killed Tesla employees." 

Greenspan published the email, and Hothi later sued for defamation in the Alameda Superior Court of California. 

Hothi's lawyers claimed that Musk's comment "prompted an onslaught of hateful Twitter response," accusing Hothi of being a liar, a murderer, a terrorist, and a deranged maniac.

Musk tried unsuccessfully to overturn the lawsuit. His attorney claimed the lawsuit was baseless and an attempt to stifle his free speech.

Judge Julia Spain of Alameda County Superior Court in California rejected Musk's arguments. And allowed the case to move forward.

Lawyers representing Hothi said in a statement that Musk had asked to settle the case back in March, and Hothi tweeted on Monday that he accepted the alleged offer for a modest $10,000.

Hothi added that he "looks forward to receiving a check from him in the mail."

About a year ago, Musk tweeted that Tesla would "never surrender/settle an unjust case against us, even if we will probably lose."

Hothi's lawyers cited this tweet in a statement on Monday, saying, "We welcome Musk's belated acknowledgment that this case was just."