The diver called a ‘pedo’ by Elon Musk has hired a lawyer and is preparing to sue

He might have billions of dollars stashed away in the bank and a few high-tech companies to satisfy his every child-like whim – but it’s hard to not feel just slightly sorry for Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his amazing ability to always put his foot in his mouth.

Just one of the scandals the SpaceX boss found himself in recently was a spat with a cave expert whose knowledge was crucial in rescuing the Thai boys last month.

British diver Vern Unsworth rejected Musk’s plan to deploy a boy-sized submarine and said it “just had absolutely no chance of working.”

“He can stick his submarine where it hurts,” Unsworth told broadcaster CNN in an interview.

Well, Musk took real offence to the caver’s comments and hit back in a bizarre war of words by baselessly blasting Unsworth as a “pedo”.

“Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it,” Musk said in a since-deleted tweet.

After some thought, however, Musk backed down and ultimately apologised.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

And that was the end of a weird tale involving a tech billionaire who apparently has too much time on his hands.

Or so we thought.

Musk reignited the ‘pedo guy’ row by getting into a Twitter fight with tech insider Drew Olanoff.

“You don’t think it’s strange he hasn’t sued me? He was offered free legal services,” Musk said.

You can read the full, petty exchange below.

And now, it turns out, the accused diving expert is fighting back by hiring a lawyer and preparing to sue to tech titan. 

“@elonmusk should check his mail before tweeting,” tweeted Unsworth’s lawyer Lin Wood.

The letter, dated 6 August, says: “You published through three different tweets to your twenty-two million followers that Mr. Unsworth engages in the sexual exploitation of Thai children, and you did so at a time when he was working to save the lives of twelve Thai children.

“You did so without any basis. According to a subsequent Twitter post, you did so out of anger.”

To be clear, Musk’s comments about Unsworth are unfounded and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.

So it would probably just be a good idea if Musk picked up a new hobby to keep him away from Twitter.

Gardening, perhaps? Or crocheting might be fun! Anything, Elon. Anything. 

(Image: Getty)