Tesla and Space-X CEO Elon Musk came under fire yesterday after launching a bizarre attack on a British diver who helped rescue the “Wild Boars” soccer team trapped in Tham Luang cave last week, calling him a “pedo” in one of his series of tweets.
Musk’s attack was directed at Vern Unsworth, one of the dozens of international divers who joined the dramatic rescue operation, after he told CNN on Saturday that Musk’s idea to use a mini-submarine to move the 12 boys and their coach out of the cave was “just a PR stunt.”
The chief executive of the tech giant Tesla flew to Thailand and visited the cave after offering to assist the rescue mission with the mini-submarine. Thai rescue mission chief Narongsak Osotthanakorn politely turned down the offer, saying the vehicle was not practical.
Musk lashed out at Unsworth, saying he would make a video proving that his “mini-sub” would have been successful and adding: “Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it.” Musk didn’t say why he was accusing Unsworth of being a pedophile.
Unsworth told CNN on Saturday that Musk’s offer was only a “PR stunt”. “It just had absolutely no chance of working,” Unsworth said in a widely shared interview. “He had no conception of what the cave passage was like. The submarine, I believe, was about 5ft 6in long, rigid, so it wouldn’t have gone round corners or round any obstacles.”
Huffington Post reported that Twitter users swiftly condemned Musk’s allegation, calling the remarks “outrageous” and “unhinged.” It said hours later, Musk later deleted his tweets about Unsworth without an explanation.
