UPDATE, 3.46pm — Vernon Unsworth isn’t ruling out legal action after Elon Musk called him a “pedo”
BREAKING: Vernon Unsworth has responded to @elonmusk slurs about him. Says he can't put into words how he feels about the guy. He hasn't ruled out taking legal action. @7NewsSydney pic.twitter.com/4oJ8HSDrSk
— Mylee Hogan (@MyleeHogan) July 16, 2018
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In a since deleted tweet tech billionaire Elon Musk referred to one of the Thai cave rescue divers as a “pedo”.
The online outburst followed British diver Vern Unsworth’s criticism of a rescue sub Musk sent over to Thailand to help rescue the stranded boys and their soccer coach.
“He can stick his submarine where it hurts,” Unsworth told reporters, adding the craft “had absolutely no chance of working” and calling the exercise a “PR stunt”.
“It had absolutely no chance of working. He had no conception of what the cave passage was like,” Unsworth said.
“The submarine, I believe, was about five foot six long, rigid, so it wouldn’t have gone round corners or round any obstacles.
“It wouldn’t have made the first 50 metres into the cave from the dive start point. Just a PR stunt.”
Musk then called Unsworth a “pedo” — common slang for paedophile — without any supporting evidence.
Musk’s tweets reportedly read:
“Never saw this British expat guy who lives in Thailand (sus) at any point when we were in the caves.
“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. Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it.”
The self-destruction of Elon Musk’s image continues https://t.co/MAHgDHy4rV
— Ryan Heath (@PoliticoRyan) July 15, 2018
