Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has apologized to a British cave diver he called “pedo guy” in a row over the cave rescue in Thailand.
He said he had “spoken in anger” after Vern Unsworth ridiculed a mini-submarine he had commissioned for the rescue effort as a “PR stunt”.
“His actions against me do not justify my actions against him, and for that, I apologize,” Mr. Musk said.
Mr. Unsworth told reporters on Monday he was considering legal action.
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Twelve boys and their football coach were rescued from deep within a cave earlier this month after being trapped for more than two weeks.
Mr. Unsworth’s knowledge of the cave complex is said to have played a key role in the rescue effort.
He traveled into the caves in the first days after the boys went missing and helped bring in top international cave rescue experts for the mission.
Mr. Musk, head of the SpaceX and Tesla companies, visited the command center in Thailand during the rescue, announcing he had left the rescuers a mini-submarine.
What did Musk say?
In a reply to another user on Twitter on Wednesday, referring to an article about his involvement in the rescue mission, he wrote that he was apologising to both Mr. Unsworth and the companies he led.
“The fault is mine and mine alone,” he declared.
At the same time, he accused Mr Unsworth of telling “untruths” about his mini-submarine, which was not used in the rescue.
As this well-written article suggests, my words were spoken in anger after Mr. Unsworth said several untruths & suggested I engage in a sexual act with the mini-sub, which had been built as an act of kindness & according to specifications from the dive team leader.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 18, 2018
Nonetheless, his actions against me do not justify my actions against him, and for that I apologize to Mr. Unsworth and to the companies I represent as leader. The fault is mine and mine alone.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 18, 2018
How did the row erupt?
Mr. Unsworth had said the mini-sub would have had “absolutely no chance of working” – and suggested Mr. Musk could “stick his submarine where it hurts”.
The entrepreneur fired back with a tweet where, without using Mr. Unsworth’s name, he referred to a “British expat guy who lives in Thailand”.
He said he would make a video showing the mini-sub making it deep inside the cave “no problemo”, adding, “Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it.”
The tweet, sent to his more than 22 million followers, was later deleted.
Asked if he would take legal action against Mr Musk, Mr Unsworth told AFP news agency: “If it’s what I think it is, yes.”
No charges or complaints had ever been filed against Mr Unsworth, Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed police officer in the Chiang Rai area as saying.
Separately, Mr Musk attacked the Thai official in charge of the command centre, Narongsak Osotthanakorn, for saying the mini-sub had been “not practical”, though “technologically sophisticated”.
Mr Musk said Mr Osotthanakorn had been “described inaccurately as ‘rescue chief’” and was “not the subject matter expert”.
How did the cave drama unfold?
The boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach became trapped by floodwater while exploring the Tham Luang cave system on 23 June.
Cut off from the outside world, they were not found by divers until 2 July and a complex rescue operation ensued, during which one diver lost his life.
The 13 were finally extracted in groups over three days, the last emerging on 10 July.
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