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16th Jul 2018

Thailand diver could take legal action over Elon Musk’s “pedo” remark

Carl Kinsella

Musk could find himself in hot water over his remarks.

Vernon Unsworth, a British diver who played a major role in rescuing the 12 soccer players and their coach trapped in a Thailand cave, has said he’s considering legal action against billionaire Elon Musk.

Musk, famous for founding Tesla and SpaceX, had originally involved himself in the rescue operation by building a mini-submarine he had hoped would save the children. However, the submarine wasn’t used, and Unsworth himself said it “had no chance of working” and labelled it a “PR stunt.”

Musk took to Twitter to hit back at the claims, and wrote that he would make a video proving that the submarine would work — ending the tweet with “Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it” — apparently referring to Unsworth.

When pushed on the issue, Musk allegedly wrote “Bet ya a signed dollar it’s true.” Musk has since deleted both of the tweets.

Speaking to the Guardian today, Unsworth said that he hadn’t seen the comments, but understood that Musk had seemingly referred to him as a paedophile. Asked by the Guardian if he would consider taking legal action, he said “Yes, it’s not finished.”

Unsworth then said similar to the AFP. When asked about whether he’d sue, he said “If it’s what I think it is yes.”