Tesla CEO calls British cave diver a ‘child rapist’
Company analysts and observers voice concern
Could Elon Musk’s latest attack on the character of a British cave diver be enough for Tesla’s board of directors to take some kind of action against the electriccar maker’s iconic chief executive?
Musk called cave diver Vern Unsworth a “child rapist” in an email exchange with BuzzFeed News, the online news site reported late Tuesday. Unsworth is the cave diver who had a part in the rescue of 12 members of a Thai boys’ soccer team, and their coach, from a flooded cave in July.
Analysts and Tesla observers expressed concern Wednesday over Musk’s latest comment about Unsworth. But they suggested it’s unlikely Tesla’s board would take any decisive, public action to rein in the CEO.
Tesla didn’t return a request for comment from this news organization about the matter.
BuzzFeed said it originally reached out to Musk last Wednesday seeking comment about Unsworth’s lawyer possibly taking legal action against Musk over when he referred to Unsworth
as “pedo guy” in a tweet almost two months ago. “Pedo” is a British slang term for “pedophile.”
Still, could calling Unsworth a “child rapist,” and not providing any public evidence or support for such a statement, be too much for people to just brush off as another of Musk’s over-the-top statements?
It may raise more speculation about Musk’s state of mind and whether he should maintain the stress of not only running Tesla, but his space exploration company SpaceX, and the Boring Company, which is trying to build a transportation tunnel under a part of greater Los Angeles.
“The difficulty for the board is that he is acting as if he is having some kind of mental deficiency problem,” said Rob Enderle, president of tech research firm the Enderle Group. “There is no reason for these attacks, which are both personal and way over the line.”
BuzzFeed said Musk began one of his emails by saying it was “off the record,” but the publication didn’t agree to that condition. In his email, Musk lashed out at Unsworth, and then BuzzFeed, for defending someone who he claims to be a criminal.
“I suggest that you call people you know in Thailand, find out what’s actually going on and stop defending child rapists, you (expletive) (expletive),” Musk wrote in one email, according to BuzzFeed. “He’s an old, single white Tesla CEO Elon Musk goes after Vern Unsworth, calling the British cave diver a “child rapist,” and dares Unsworth to take him to court.
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 is no stranger to making statements that are uncommon for the head of a large, publicly traded company. He went on Twitter in early August and surprised everyone by saying he was considering taking Tesla private for $420 a share, and that funding was secured. Less than three weeks later, Musk said he was dropping his plans to take Tesla private and it would remain a public company.
Tesla’s shares fell almost 3 percent, to close at $280.74, in the wake of his latest comment about Unsworth.
Since Musk ended his efforts to take Tesla private on Aug. 24, Tesla’s shares have fallen by 13 percent.
Tim Bajarin, tech industry analyst with Creative Strategies, said Tesla’s board may feel embarrassed by Musk’s words
and actions of late, but it would likely tread carefully around the subject of taking disciplinary action against a CEO who is the face and guiding force behind the company.
“There could be a point when Musk’s rhetoric crosses a line and it would be up to his board to deal with some form of corrective action,” Bajarin said. “However, removing him from his role would be the last option they would take if his comments really impacted the company’s performance.”
In addition to his “child rapist” comment, Musk also threw down a gauntlet for Unsworth, and his lawyers, to take action against him for his public attack against Unsworth.
“As for this alleged threat of a lawsuit, which magically appeared when I raised the issue (nothing was sent or raised beforehand), I (expletive) hope he sues me,” Musk wrote.
Musk’s back-and-forth with Unsworth began shortly after the Thai boys and their coach were rescued in July. Musk offered the use of a mini-submarine to aid in the rescue efforts, a move which Unsworth called a “PR stunt,” saying Musk could “stick his submarine where it hurts.”
Musk did apologize to Unsworth in a roundabout way for calling him “pedo guy.” However, being unable to let the matter go, even after the brouhaha about his short-lived effort to take Tesla private, has left many Tesla watchers wondering about where Musk is taking the company, and if the board may take any steps to reel in a CEO who owns about 20 percent of the company’s stock.
“It’s the same old story really,” said Clement Thibault, financial analyst with Investing.com. “Just like banks, Elon Musk might just be too big to fail. He’s the unquestioned and irreplaceable leader, for better or worse. The board will act when Elon’s actions are costing the company more than his potential departure.”
Eric Schiffer, CEO of private-investment firm the Patriarch Organization, said that in spite of Musk’s latest broadside against Unsworth, Tesla’s board will probably continue to do what it has done in response to what Schiffer called all of “Musk’s vicious Mad Max-style provocations”: next to nothing.
“The board will probably strongly admonish, but they don’t have the guts to cut Musk’s head off the Tesla unicorn,” Schiffer said. “And that day is unlikely to come any time soon.”