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Elon Musk wanted this deposition kept secret. Here are the best moments

Elon Musk wanted this deposition kept secret. Here are the best moments

Highlights from the Tesla CEO and X owner's newly released deposition transcript

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Elon Musk’s recent deposition, made public in a transcript published by HuffPost on Monday, revealed several interesting details about the owner of X. The deposition also included several heated exchanges between Musk, his lawyer, and the plaintiff. We read the whole 108-page transcript and pulled the best moments.

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This deposition is related to Musk’s tweets on the X platform, specifically pertaining to a 22-year-old Jewish man Ben Brody who is suing the billionaire. Brody alleges Musk contributed to a conspiracy theory about him. However, this public deposition explored wide-ranging topics about Musk’s life.

Read more: Elon Musk’s ‘self-inflicted wounds’ and other highlights from a newly released deposition

Brody’s attorney, Mark Bankston, peppered Musk and his longtime lawyer, Alex Spiro, with questions for nearly two hours. In the deposition, Musk confirms some of his strange alt accounts on X. Spiro specifically asked at one point to make this deposition confidential, though it clearly was made public this week.

Musk revealed in his deposition that he’s never read Walter Isaacson’s biography on him. Later on, Musk says he may have done more financial harm than good to the X platform. These quotes from Musk, who often comes up as “A” or “WITNESS” in the transcript, come alongside several heated exchanges, all occurring over Zoom.

Here are the best moments from Elon Musk’s deposition about his use of the X platform, and other parts of his life.

A version of this article originally appeared on Gizmodo.

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Starting Strong

Starting Strong

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To start off, Elon Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro wouldn’t even let the plaintiff get the first question off. Spiro threatened to end the deposition before it started.

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Musk Discusses His Alts

Musk Discusses His Alts

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Here we see Musk admit to using an alt as a “test account.” HuffPost revealed this account to be @ermnmusk. Musk references “baby smoke 9,000" as well, which appears to be a typo for @babysmurf9000. Those two appear to be Musk’s alternate X accounts.

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Wait, Which Lawsuit is This Again?

Wait, Which Lawsuit is This Again?

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Elon Musk appeared to be confused about who Mr. Brody, the man suing him, actually is. Bankston asked Musk if he understood that he was a lawyer.

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Let The Record Show Alex Spiro Does Not Care

Let The Record Show Alex Spiro Does Not Care

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Bankston kept reading a rule about what types of objections a defending lawyer can make. Spiro didn’t care and continued to interrupt the whole time.

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Musk Admits to Financially Impairing X

Musk Admits to Financially Impairing X

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Musk says he “may have done more to financially impair the company than to help it” at one point in the deposition. He’s defending that he doesn’t start controversy to boost engagement.

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Reminder: Everyone Here is an Adult

Reminder: Everyone Here is an Adult

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Things got heated pretty early on. Bankston yelled at Musk (the witness) and Spiro to follow his rules. The defense had to remind Bankston to stay calm.

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Explaining Memes

Explaining Memes

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Musk describes a meme that’s just a kitten with a tin foil hat.

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Looks Like a Donut

Looks Like a Donut

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Musk makes a good point. Even if something looks like a donut, it could be a bagel.

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Musk Has Left the Zoom Room

Musk Has Left the Zoom Room

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Musk abruptly left the Zoom at one point.

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Musk Never Read His Own Biography

Musk Never Read His Own Biography

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Musk reveals that, based on the advice from Walter Isaacson, never read his own biography.

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Once Again, Everyone Here Is an Adult

Once Again, Everyone Here Is an Adult

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Musk just started talking at one point, when no question was asked of him. The plaintiff asked Musk to wait for a question, and Spiro asked that Musk just be allowed to speak.

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Musk and Spiro Wanted This to Be Confidential

Musk and Spiro Wanted This to Be Confidential

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At the end of this interview, Alex Spiro asked for this deposition to be confidential. However, the plaintiff argued that there had been no grounds for that. Then Spiro hopped off the Zoom call before any discussion could happen.

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