Musk said he'd never settle an unjust legal case against him. He just settled this one

The defamation part is simple: Hothi's lawyers argued that when Musk wrote the email in 2019 claiming that Hothi 'almost killed' a Tesla security guard, with no evidence to back it up, he defamed Hothi. — Reuters

A year ago this month, Elon Musk proclaimed his position on guilt and innocence in a tweet.

"My commitment: We will never seek victory in a just case against us, even if we will probably win," he wrote. "We will never surrender/settle an unjust case against us, even if we will probably lose."