'I f***ing hope he sues me!' Elon Musk refused to apologize for calling Thai cave rescue diver a 'pedo' despite Tesla shares plunging 3.5% because he feared it would make him look cowardly, book claims
Elon Musk refused to publicly apologize for the ‘pedo guy’ comment he tweeted at the British diver who rescued young Thai soccer players trapped in a flooded cave because he was worried doing so would make him look cowardly, according to a new book.
Even as his company’s stock was dipping more than 3 percent amid his Twitter feud, the Tesla CEO even dared the diver, Vernon Unsworth, to take him to court, telling a BuzzFeed News reporter in August 2018: ‘I f***ing hope he sues me.’
Musk emailed the comment to the reporter thinking that it was off the record, but the journalist, Ryan Mac, never agreed to the arrangement. The story and Musk’s quotes were published in full on September 4, 2018.
The anecdote is relayed in reporter Tim Higgins’ new book Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century. An excerpt of the book was published by Vanity Fair.
Unsworth had helped rescue a dozen boys and their soccer coach from a flooded Thailand cave in 2018.
But the diver was critical of Musk's public declarations that he could design a mini-submarine to rescue the team.
The Tesla CEO lashed out on Twitter, calling Unsworth a 'pedo guy' - and was sued for defamation.
In late 2019, Musk told jurors in court that he was being insulting, and not literally calling Unsworth a pedophile.
Elon Musk (left) refused to publicly apologize for the ‘pedo guy’ comment he tweeted at Vernon Unsworth (right), the British diver who rescued young Thai soccer players trapped in a flooded cave because he was worried doing so would make him look cowardly, according to a new book
Musk said he called Unsworth 'pedo guy' after the diver mocked his idea of using a mini-sub to rescue a group of Thai boys trapped inside a flooded cave
Musk's aides pleaded with him to apologize after the company stock dropped
When news of the trapped boys’ soccer team broke, Musk took an interest. On Twitter, he suggested the use of a mini-submarine that would ferry the boys to safety.
Musk even flew to the cave site and posted photos of himself there on Twitter. He left the mini-sub there for rescue workers to use in case they needed it.
He tweeted on July 9: 'Just returned from Cave 3. Mini-sub is ready if needed. It is made of rocket parts & named Wild Boar after kids' soccer team. Leaving here in case it may be used in the future. Thailand is so beautiful.'
But by that time a rescue attempt was initiated and Musk's mini-sub wouldn't be needed.
The claims were made in a new book by reporter Tim Higgins called Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century
The Tesla mogul wasn’t happy that the regional governor in Thailand said that the mini-sub wasn’t practical for use in a rescue mission.
The sub was never used and Unsworth called it nothing more than a 'PR stunt' and said Musk could stick the craft 'where it hurts.'
The comment enraged Musk, who went on a tweetstorm in which he said: ‘Sorry pedo guy. You really did ask for it.’
Musk’s aides and deputies pleaded with him to apologize and delete the tweet, which caused the value of the company to drop.
The stock price fell by some 3.5 percent, wiping $2billion off the company valuation.
But Musk feared that apologizing would make him look like a coward.
‘We need to stop panicking,’ Musk told his charges.
Musk deleted the July 15, 2018, tweets and apologized on Twitter, though subsequent statements he made have called into question what he meant.
'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,' Musk said in his apology.
'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. I am truly sorry if I offended anyone.'
Musk doubled down on his 'pedo guy' claim - reversing himself after the matter seemed to have been resolved after the apology.
In August 2018, the Tesla chief posted another Twitter tirade wondering why Unsworth didn't sue him.
'You don't think it's strange he hasn't sued me? He was offered free legal services,' Musk wrote, responding to a tweet from a former TechCrunch writer criticizing the 'pedo guy' remark.
The sub was never used and Unsworth (seen above near the cave) called it nothing more than a 'PR stunt' and said Musk could stick the craft 'where it hurts'
The comment enraged Musk, who went on a tweetstorm in which he said: ‘Sorry pedo guy. You really did ask for it.’
In an email to a Buzzfeed reporter, Ryan Mac, seeking comment on the threat of a lawsuit by Unsworth’s lawyer, Musk wrote the journalist ‘should stop defending child rapists,’ followed by expletives.
Musk then explained to Mac why he thought Unsworth was actually a peodphile.
'[Unsworth is] an old, single white guy from England who’s been traveling to or living in Thailand for 30 to 40 years, mostly Pattaya Beach, until moving to Chiang Rai for a child bride who was about 12 years old at the time,' Musk wrote to Mac.
There was no truth to Musk's suggestion that Unsworth traveled to Thailand to find a child bride.
The diver was in Southeast Asia because that's where his Thai girlfriend was from. She was 40 years old at the time.
'There's only one reason people go to Pattaya Beach,' Musk wrote.
'It isn't where you'd go for caves, but it is where you’d go for something else.
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