British cave diver may sue Musk over ‘paedophile’ slur

A BRITISH caver hailed as a hero for helping to save the lives of 12 boys and their football coach trapped deep inside a Thai cave system has said he may take action against Elon Musk after the billionaire entrepreneur called him a “pedo” online.

The Tesla head lashed out on Sunday evening at Vernon Unsworth, 63, in an extraordinary tirade on Twitter after the cave diver scoffed at Mr Musk’s offer of a specialised miniature submarine to evacuate the boys.

Mr Unsworth, who has mapped the Tham Luang cave network for years and played a pivotal role in the daring rescue operation to dive the boys to safety, dismissed the submarine idea as a “PR stunt” in an interview with CNN, quipping that the entrepreneur could stick the invention “where it hurts.”

The Briton said that the six-foot submarine “wouldn’t have made the first 50 metres in the cave” as it was rigid and would not have gone round any corners or obstacles. His comments were not well-received by Mr Musk, who had travelled to Thailand last week at the height of the crisis to present his submarine to the rescue teams.

In a stream of bizarre tweets Mr Musk first told his 22 million-strong Twitter following that he “never saw this British expat guy who lives in Thailand (sus) at any point when we were in the caves”. By “sus” Mr Musk was presumed to have meant “suspect”, imply- ing that a British man living in Thailand is in itself dubious.

He went on to dispute Mr Unsworth’s claim that the submarine concept was unworkable, arguing that he would produce a video to prove that the device would have reached the children.

“Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it,” he said, without directly naming Mr Unsworth or providing any justification or explanation for the slur. Despite a flow of criticism, Musk showed no signs of backing down, adding: “Bet ya a signed dollar it’s true.” The tweets have since been deleted and Musk has not responded to requests for comment.

Mr Unsworth told AFP yesterday that he had not reviewed the tweets in full and had only heard about them. Asked if he would take legal action against the billionaire over the allegation, he said: “If it’s what I think it is, yes.”

The cave diver added that he would make a decision when he flies back to the UK this week, but said the episode with Mr Musk “ain’t finished”.

Mr Unsworth who lives close to the caves in the city of Chiang Rai with his wife, was instrumental in forming the elite team of international divers who spearheaded a mission by the Thai navy Seals to rescue the “Wild Boars” football team, who were sheltering in a cavern more than two miles inside the cave.

All 12 boys and their coach survived. They are recovering in hospital and are expected to be released on Thursday.