Elon Musk regularly switches to a new phone and sometimes destroys the old one, according to a court document

• Elon Musk regularly switches to a new cell phone and sometimes destroys his old phone for security reasons, according to an October 14 legal filing.
• The filing includes a signed statement from a SpaceX IT employee dated October 1. 
• "For security purposes, Mr. Musk regularly changes his cellular device, at which time his old device is imaged, wiped clean, and stored or destroyed," the statement reads.
• The filing is part of a lawsuit brought by the British diver Vernon Unsworth against Musk claiming defamation after the Tesla and SpaceX CEO called him a "pedo guy" on Twitter last year.
• "Mr. Musk updates his phone (like lots of other people) and Mr. Musk occasionally has to change his phone for reasons that have to do with security and sensitive information," Alex Spiro, an attorney for Musk, told Business Insider. 
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Elon Musk regularly switches to a new cell phone and sometimes destroys his old phone for security reasons, according to an October 14 legal filing.

The filing includes a signed statement from a SpaceX information-technology employee dated October 1. 

Read more: Elon Musk reportedly testified that he's low on cash and assets that could quickly be turned into cash

"For security purposes, Mr. Musk regularly changes his cellular device, at which time his old device is imaged, wiped clean, and stored or destroyed," the statement reads.

The filing is part of a lawsuit brought by the British diver Vernon Unsworth against Musk claiming defamation after the Tesla and SpaceX CEO called him a "pedo guy" on Twitter last year. (Musk later apologized to Unsworth and deleted the tweet.) Musk's tweet followed an interview in which Unsworth, who was involved in last year's rescue of a youth soccer team and its coach from a cave in Thailand, said the miniature submarine Musk sent to Thailand to help with the rescue would have been ineffective and was merely a publicity stunt.

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"Mr. Musk updates his phone (like lots of other people) and Mr. Musk occasionally has to change his phone for reasons that have to do with security and sensitive information," Alex Spiro, an attorney for Musk, told Business Insider. 

Are you a current or former Tesla employee? Do you have an opinion about what it's like to work there? Contact this reporter at mmatousek@businessinsider.com. You can ask for more secure methods of communication, like Signal or ProtonMail, by email or Twitter direct message.

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