A British diving expert who helped rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach from a Thai cave is reportedly considering legal action after Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk called him a “pedo guy.”
Agence France-Presse reported on Monday that Vernon Unsworth is considering taking that step after Musk used the term in a tweet over the weekend. “Pedo” is a slang term for pedophile.
{mosads}The Musk tweet came after Unsworth dismissed his child-sized submarine intended to aid efforts to save a group of Thai children as a “PR stunt.” Among other things, Unsworth said Musk’s submarine had “absolutely no chance of working.”
Musk then responded in a spree of now-deleted tweets by referring to Unsworth as a “pedo guy.”
“Bet ya a signed dollar it’s true,” Musk added.
Asked by AFP if he would consider legal action against Musk, Unsworth replied, “If it’s what I think it is, yes.”
“He’s just a PR stunt merchant — that’s all he is,” Unsworth told AFP, adding that his feud with Musk is not finished. He also said he’d make a decision regarding legal action later this week when he returns to the United Kingdom.
The feud comes after a rescue mission successfully saved every member of a Thai soccer team and their coach who were trapped in a cave by sudden flooding.
The chief of the rescue operation also said that Musk’s submarine was “not practical” for the mission.