Elon Musk apologises for his Twitter meltdown over the Thai mini-sub rescue fiasco

TECH billionaire Elon Musk has apologised to the British rescue diver he called a paedophile, trying to explain why he made the outrageous remarks.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he had "spoken in anger" after diver Vern Unsworth accused him of orchestrating a "PR stunt" by sending a small submarine to rescue the Thai soccer players. Picture: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

TESLA and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has apologised for calling a British diver involved in the Thailand cave rescue a paedophile, saying he spoke in anger but was wrong to do so.

There was no immediate public reaction from diver Vern Unsworth to Musk’s latest tweets.

Musk’s initial tweet calling Mr Unsworth a “pedo” was a response to a TV interview Mr Unsworth gave.

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In it, he said Musk and SpaceX engineers orchestrated a “PR stunt” by sending a small submarine to help divers rescue the 12 Thai soccer players and their coach from a flooded cave.

Mr Unsworth said the submarine, which wasn’t used, wouldn’t have worked anyway.

Just returned from Cave 3. Mini-sub is ready if needed. It is made of rocket parts & named Wild Boar after kids’ soccer team. Leaving here in case it may be useful in the future. Thailand is so beautiful. pic.twitter.com/EHNh8ydaTT

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 9, 2018

“My words were spoken in anger after Mr. Unsworth said several untruths …” Musk tweeted.

“Nonetheless, his actions against me do not justify my actions against him, and for that I apologise to Mr. Unsworth and to the companies I represent as leader. The fault is mine and mine alone.”

Elon Musk has apologised for posting this since-deleted tweet in which he referred to a rescue diver as “pedo-guy”. Picture: Twitter

Musk’s Sunday tweet, later deleted, had sent investors away from Tesla stock, which fell nearly 3 per cent Monday but recovered 4.1 per cent on Tuesday.

Mr Unsworth told CNN earlier this week that he was considering legal action. He did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

In his latest tweets, Musk said the minisub was “built as an act of kindness & according to specifications from the dive team leader.”

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.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 18, 2018

Mr Unsworth, who lives part of the year in Thailand, took part in the gargantuan 18-day effort to retrieve the 12 boys and their coach, a mission that ended on July 10 when the last five members were extracted.

The boys are all in good health and were released from hospital Wednesday, telling a packed press conference their rescue was a “miracle”.

Musk has 22.3 million followers and his active social media presence has sometimes worked well for Tesla.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has apologised for attacking the British diver Vern Unsworth, who had dismissed the Tesla chief's efforts to help the rescue mission as a "PR stunt". Picture: AFP Photo / Brendan Smialowski

The company has said in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it doesn’t need to advertise because it gets so much free media attention.

But straying away from defending his companies into personal insult brought Musk some unfavourable attention at a time when Tesla, worth more than $52 billion, is deep in debt and struggling for profitability.