Elon Musk has been courting controversy lately after he called British cave diver Vernon Unsworth a “pedo”.
For those that aren’t aware here’s a quick primer. Unsworth was one of the divers tasked with rescuing the 12 Thai boys from a cave. Following the successful rescue of the boys Unsworth appeared in an interview where he was critical of Musk and the submarine he intended to use to rescue the boys.
Following Unsworth’s interview Musk took to Twitter to defend the sub in tweets that have since been deleted. Thankfully this is the internet where nothing is ever really deleted and Fortune has evidence of the tweets.
“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,” wrote Musk.
Naturally this tweet drew the ire of many including Tesla investors who demanded Musk apologise for the tweets and baseless claims that Unsworth was a “pedo” simply because he is a Westerner in Thailand.
So, Musk has apologised, only, you won’t find the apology on his Twitter profile unless you click “Tweets & Replies”. There, in response to a tweet praising a Quore answer which outlines how Musk’s involvement in the Thai rescue operation wasn’t a PR stunt, Musk apologises.
“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,” writes Musk.
“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,” he adds.
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
The tweet has been retweeted several times already but we feel that Ol’ Musky should have tweeted this apology out to his 22.3 million followers rather than those followers who happen to follow him and the person he was responding to, especially considering the weight of the allegations he made.
The apology also makes it seem like Unsworth telling Musk to put his sub “where it hurts” justified him calling the man a pedo. In a world where cyberbullying is a real problem this tit for tat mentality is really sad to see.
We expected better of you, Musk, and you’ve let us down.
As an aside Unsworth is considering taking legal action against the Tesla CEO.
Whether this apology will affect Unsworth’s decision remains to be seen.
[Image – CC BY 2.0 Tesla Owners Club Belgium]
