Elon Musk has escalated his baseless attacks against a British diver, claiming without evidence that the man who helped rescue children from a cave in Thailand was a “child rapist” in an email to a reporter.
The embattled Tesla CEO faced widespread backlash in July when he first called the diver Vernon Unsworth a “pedo” in a tweet – an unfounded claim against a man who was part of the international team that freed 12 young footballers and their coach from the Tham Luang cave complex. Musk, who had unsuccessfully attempted to assist the rescue mission, eventually apologized to Unsworth.
Elon Musk's 'pedo' claim is evidence only of his grossly inflated ego | Zoe Williams Read more
On Tuesday, however, BuzzFeed published two new emails from Musk, in which he called a journalist who has written about the dispute a “fucking asshole” and he launched new extraordinary claims against Unsworth, without providing documentation to support the allegations.
Musk called Unsworth a “single white guy from England who’s been traveling to or living in Thailand for 30 to 40 years”, alleging that he had moved to Chiang Rai “for a child bride who was about 12 years old at the time”. He asserted that the city was “renowned for child sex-trafficking”.
Ryan Mac (@RMac18) This was his first email to me after I asked him twice for comment on a legal threat from the rescuer's lawyer.
He prefaced the email with "off the record" though I did not agree to that condition. Off the record is a two-party agreement. pic.twitter.com/szknfOMg0s
BuzzFeed reported that it had investigated the allegations and Unsworth’s background, but could not verify any of the claims and said that it was unclear where the allegations originated.
Unsworth, who said he was considering legal action after the original insults on Twitter, is now moving forward with a lawsuit, his lawyer said in an email to the Guardian on Tuesday: “Elon Musk’s campaign of publishing vile and false accusations against Mr Unsworth is inexcusable. Musk hopes to be sued and he deserves to be sued. He will be.”
Musk’s email to BuzzFeed, which was a response to Unsworth’s latest legal threats, said: “I suggest that you call people you know in Thailand, find out what’s actually going on and stop defending child rapists, you fucking asshole … As for this alleged threat of a lawsuit, which magically appeared when I raised the issue (nothing was sent or raised beforehand), I fucking hope he sues me.”
Musk also defended his original effort to help the rescue mission in a follow-up email.
Musk confirmed to the Guardian on Tuesday that he had sent the email but did not immediately comment further. Tesla spokespeople did not respond to a request for comment.
BuzzFeed said it could not locate any UK criminal records for Unsworth, 63, and also spoke with his girlfriend, who said she was 40 and had been with him for seven years.
The controversy comes at a time when Tesla and Musk continue to battle intense negative publicity and embarrassing controversies. His seemingly impulsive tweets have repeatedly led him into trouble. Notably, Musk recently tweeted that he had “secured” funding to take his electric car company private, which prompted scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and backlash from investors.
Earlier this year, Tesla’s credit rating was downgraded to negative, with Moody’s citing a “significant shortfall” in the Model 3 production rate. The CEO also faced criticism after he slammed analysts on an earnings call in the spring, saying they should stop asking “boring, bonehead questions”.
After the first attack on Unsworth, some investors demanded an apology and criticized Musk for distracting from Tesla’s mission.
Julia Carrie Wong contributed reporting
Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Musk (R) alleged that British diver Mr Unsworth (L) had a "child bride"
Elon Musk has again attacked a British diver he has previously accused without evidence of being a child abuser.
In an email to a reporter, Mr Musk said Vernon Unsworth - who assisted with the rescue of 12 Thai teenagers from a flooded cave - was a "child rapist".
Mr Unsworth's lawyer said the allegation was "completely false".
Mr Musk had earlier apologised for calling Mr Unsworth a "pedo". The pair first clashed over Mr Musk's offer of a mini-submarine to help with the rescue.
The Briton had told CNN that the submarine was "just a PR stunt [that] had absolutely no chance of working". The Tesla founder responded with a series of tweets accusing Mr Unsworth of paedophilia without providing any evidence.
In July he deleted the tweets but last week he appeared to repeat his allegation, tweeting that it was "strange he hasn't sued me" after Mr Unsworth said he was considering legal action.
What did Musk say?
Writing in an email to Buzzfeed reporter Ryan Mac, Mr Musk went further. He told the reporter to "call people you know in Thailand, find out what's actually going on and stop defending child rapists".
He alleged that Mr Unsworth, 63, had spent decades visiting and living in Thailand and had recently moved to Chiang Rai in northern Thailand "for a child bride who was about 12 years old at the time".
"It isn't where you'd go for caves, but it is where you'd go for something else," Mr Musk wrote. "Chiang Rai is renowned for child sex trafficking." He added that he hoped Mr Unsworth would sue him.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Mr Unsworth, in orange, provided information for the rescue
What is Unsworth's response?
Mr Unsworth's lawyer Mark Stephens from the firm Howard Kennedy told the BBC that Mr Musk's allegations were baseless.
"Just as we get a series of legal proceedings drafted, Mr Musk adds another libel to it," he said.
"He seems to have a reckless indifference about the truth of these things. There's not a shred or scintilla of evidence to back it up.
"Vernon Unsworth is in most people's minds a hero. He is not a paedophile as is alleged. We feel very strongly that the record should be put straight."
"This is all about being upset that - as one of the divers, not my client, put it - Musk's shiny tube wasn't used," he added.
Mr Stephens confirmed that Mr Unsworth was in a relationship with Woranan Ratrawiphukkun, a Thai woman who told Buzzfeed she was 40 and had been in a relationship with Mr Unsworth for seven years.
The couple had met in London, where Mr Unsworth lives, and the relationship had continued while Mr Unsworth was in Thailand exploring the Tham Luang cave complex, Mr Stephens said.
What other allegations does Musk make?
In his email, Mr Musk also said that Mr Unsworth had not been part of the cave dive rescue team and had been shunned by its members.
Mr Unsworth did not take part in the dives but had previously explored the cave complex extensively.
He knew about the raised ledge known as Pattaya Beach where the boys and their football coach could have sought shelter, travelled into the caves shortly after they went missing and called in the two expert British divers who eventually found the trapped group.
Several divers told Buzzfeed that he had worked continuously on the rescue. "He was pivotal to the entire operation," said British diver Rick Stanton.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption The Tesla founder also said Mr Unsworth had been shunned by other rescue divers
Mr Musk also sent a copy of a letter from the Thai government thanking him for his offer of assistance and denied that he had been asked by the Thai government to leave the cave complex during the rescue operation - an assertion he alleged Mr Unsworth had made during his CNN interview.
In the interview, Mr Unsworth said Mr Musk had been asked to leave the cave complex during the rescue operation but did not say by whom.
Mr Stephens said Mr Musk had not initially asked for or been given surveys of the cave system when offering the use of a mini-submarine and it would not have fitted through the spaces available in the cave anyway. Mr Musk only arrived at the cave complex when eight of the boys had already been rescued, Mr Stephens said.
Does Musk 'attract drama'?
The latest controversy follows weeks of erratic behaviour on social media.
In July he shocked investors by announcing on Twitter that he had funding secured to take his car firm Tesla private. He later said the firm would stay public.
He also tweeted that he suffered from "great highs, terrible lows and unrelenting stress". He also tweeted that he might suffer from bipolar disorder but then said "maybe not medically".
In August he told the New York Times that he worked "120-hour weeks" and took sedatives.
His brother Kimbal Musk told the newspaper that the reason Mr Musk "seems to attract drama" is because he is "so transparent, so open, in a way that can come back to bite him".
Jakarta - Elon Musk belum mau berhenti menyerang Vern Unsworth, penyelam asal Inggris yang turut berperan dalam menyelamatkan para korban di gua Thailand beberapa waktu lampau. Bahkan meskipun tak mengajukan bukti, Musk yakin Vern adalah pemerkosa anak. Elon Musk mengirimkan email pada wartawan BuzzFeed, ia menyebut kata sumpah serapah pada jurnalis yang memberitakan kasus tersebut. Kemudian ia membeberkan keyakinannya bahwa Vern berada di Thailand untuk melakukan tindak kriminal. "Aku menyarankan kamu menghubungi orang yang kamu kenal di Thailand untuk menemukan apa yang sebenarnya terjadi dan berhenti membela pemerkosa anak. Dia adalah pria single dan tua dari Inggris yang pergi ke Thailand selama 30 atau 40 tahun sebelum pindah ke Chiang Rai untuk menikahi anak yang waktu itu berumur 12 tahun," tulis Elon dalam email tersebut.
"Dia mungkin saja mengklaim mengetahui cara menyelam, tapi dia tidak termasuk tim yang melakukan penyelamatan dan para penyelam itu menolak bersamanya, aku pun jadi bertanya-tanya kenapa," tandas Elon. Elon pun menantang agar Vern segera menggugatnya. Sebelumnya di Twitter, ia juga menyerang Vern. "Kalian tidak berpikir itu aneh dia belum menggugatku? Dia ditawarkan layanan hukum gratis," kata Elon Musk lewat akun Twitternya. Semua tudingan Elon tidak ada buktinya sejauh ini sehingga beberapa pihak menyarankan Vern segera menggugatnya. Vera Unsworth, ibu Vern, belum lama ini menyatakan putranya langsung berkonsultasi lagi dengan pengacara terkait tantangan Elon tersebut. "Dia berkonsultasi dengan pengacaranya pagi ini. Itulah yang dia katakan padaku," ujar Vera yang dikutip detikINET dari Mirror. Seperti diketahui, awal mula pertikaian ini dipicu pernyataan Vern bahwa kapal selam buatan tim Elon untuk menyelamatkan para korban tidak ada gunanya dan dibuat hanya untuk kepentingan publisitas. Elon pun marah dan menjuluki Vern sebagai 'pedo guy'. Elon Musk Dikecam Karena Hina Penyelamat Korban Gua Thailand, Simak Videonya: [Gambas:Video 20detik] (fyk/rns)
