Tesla chief Elon Musk has lost yet another round in his battle to block a defamation lawsuit filed against him by a British cave diver he infamously called “pedo guy” and will now face trial in December.

A Los Angeles judge Monday tossed out Musk’s claim that he had a First Amendment right to call Vernon Unsworth the term as the pair sparred over the entrepreneur’s suggestion to use a small submarine to help rescue  a group of boys trapped in a Thai cave, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The judge said there was no public controversy involving Unsworth at the time, making Musk’s comments of him not protected by the free-speech amendment, the Times said.

A jury will now decide whether Musk was negligent in allegedly defaming the diver.

Alex Spiro, a lawyer for the electric-car honcho, said in a statement, “We look forward to the trial.

“We understand that, while Musk has apologized, Unsworth would like to milk his 15 minutes of fame.”