Elon Musk Calls Key Player in Thai Cave Rescue a 'Pedo'

The billionaire reportedly went on Twitter rant against British diver Vernon Unsworth
By Josh Gardner,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 15, 2018 3:30 PM CDT
Elon Musk Calls Thai Cave Rescuer 'Pedo,' Deletes Tweet
Tesla CEO and founder of the Boring Company Elon Musk speaks at a news conference in Chicago.   (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

Elon Musk reportedly went on a Twitter rant Sunday against a key player in the recent rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a cave in Thailand. According to Vox.com, the billionaire investor called British cave diver Vernon Unsworth "pedo guy" as part of a series of tweets that appeared to be a retaliation for Unsworth's assertion in an interview that Musk's attempt to contribute to the rescue was just empty posturing. Musk's ideas had “absolutely no chance” of working, said Unsworth, who lives in Thailand and has extensively explored the Tham Luang cave system where the 13 people were trapped for weeks. “He can stick his submarine where it hurts,” Unsworth continued.

In addition to directing his teams at SpaceX to engineer a mini submarine to help pull out the kids, Musk reportedly proposed an underwater air tunnel that could be used in the rescue. Musk went to Thailand, but neither method was used. "Never saw this British expat guy," Musk tweeted Sunday, per Business Insider, before demanding he show video that Musk believed would prove him right. Minutes after the initial post, Musk's tone took a turn. "You know what, don’t bother showing the video. We will make one of the mini-sub/pod going all the way to Cave 5 no problemo," he wrote. "Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it." Musk offered no evidence to back up his assertion that Unsworth is a pedophile, but bet one doubtful follower "a signed dollar it’s true." The Twitter posts appear to have since been deleted. (More Elon Musk stories.)

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