NEW YORK — One of the men who helped rescued 12 boys and their soccer coach from a cave in Thailand said he is considering legal action against Elon Musk after the US billionaire called him a “pedo”, or pedophile, in a now-deleted tweet.
Vernon Unsworth, a caver based in Thailand, provided knowledge of the Tham Luang cave system, which helped in the rescue.
According to CBS News, it all started after Musk announced plans to help. He proceeded to post regular updates on social media, including photos and a video of a “kid-size” submarine being constructed and tested.
Ultimately, the capsule was not used in the rescue mission, and it was criticized by some – including Unsworth -as a distraction. At one point he even told CNN that Musk’s idea “had absolutely no chance of working.”
He can “stick his submarine where it hurts,” Unsworth said during the interview in Thailand.
The mission commander, Narongsak Osotthanakorn, concurred, saying at one point that the submarine “doesn’t fit with our mission,” according to the BBC. That prompted a retort from Musk. He responded to a tweet from the BBC, saying Osotthanakorn was “not the subject matter expert.”
He then reportedly went after Unsworth, calling him a “pedo” in a now deleted tweet.
Asked by a Nine Network reporter if he was going to take legal action again Musk, Unsworth replied: “Yes, yes, it’s not finished.”
“I believe he’s called me a pedophile. Well, (if) by definition rescuing 12 young boys…that puts everybody in the same context.”
Asked how he felt about Musk’s remark, Unsworth added: “I am not gonna make any further comment about him but I think people realize what sort of a guy he is.”
When Twitter users called out Musk’s attack on Unsworth as unfair, he doubled down.
“Bet ya a signed dollar it’s true,” he wrote in another tweet that has since been removed.
Representatives for Musk and his companies — SpaceX, Boring Co. and Tesla — did not respond to requests for comment Sunday.