Elon Musk Continues Attack On British Diver He Called A ‘Pedo’
Elon Musk has again gone on a troubling Twitter tirade, worrying Tesla investors. NBC News reports that the billionare CEO has taken to Twitter to revisit an old controversy. This time, Musk questioned why the diver he called a pedophile a few months ago hasn’t sued him for slander yet.
The incident reinvigorated the argument that first originated back in July, when Musk offered assistance in rescuing the Thai youth soccer team who had become trapped in an underground cave. Based on what appears to be no evidence of sexual misconduct, Musk called British cave explorer Vern Unsworth a “pedo” on Twitter in a fit of anger after Unsworth remarked negatively on Musk’s efforts to rescue the team. Unsworth called Musk’s efforts a publicity stunt, which angered Musk. Musk and a team of Tesla engineers built a miniature submarine in an attempt to aid recovery efforts.
Musk apologized on July 18, and the incident seemed to be over. However, Musk’s Twitter behavior of late, which has included musings on taking the company private, is gaining more negative attention and alleged concern from Tesla. Today, Musk took to the social media network to posit why Unsworth had not sued him as he threatened to at the time. He even seemed to suggest that the evidence of pedophilia was there, if only Twitter users investigated.
You don’t think it’s strange he hasn’t sued me? He was offered free legal services. And you call yourself @yoda …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 28, 2018
Tesla investors have been taking stock of Musk’s erratic social media behavior, especially his plan to take the publicly traded company private. Reuters reported that he gave up on that idea Friday, after firm feedback from investors.
“Although the majority of shareholders I spoke to said they would remain with Tesla if we went private, the sentiment, in a nutshell, was ‘please don’t do this,'” Musk wrote in a blog post.
It’s unclear why Musk has decided to incite more controversy on Twitter by revisiting the argument with Vern Unsworth. It seems entirely prompted by a query from Twitter user Drew Olanoff, who suggested that Musk’s commitment to facts was not on display when he levied the accusation at Unsworth. Musk’s comments seem to invite his 22 million Twitter followers to look into Unsworth’s past for evidence to support his accusation. He implies it’s strange that Unsworth was offered free legal services but did not sue him.
Unsworth has yet to comment on the matter. Musk has made another out of character choice when he announced he’s not attending Burning Man this year. It will be the first time in nine years he has stayed home from the desert festival.
