Thai cave diver Vernon Unsworth sues Elon Musk for ‘pedo’ tweet
Diver who helped rescue 12 youth soccer players from a Thai cave sues Elon Musk for $104,000 for calling him a ’pedo’ on Twitter.
A British diver who helped rescue 12 youth soccer players trapped in a flooded Thai cave is suing Tesla chief executive Elon Musk.
Vernon Unsworth alleges that Musk falsely accused him on Twitter of being a pedophile.
The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court seeks more than $US75,000 ($A104,000) in damages and a court order stopping Musk from making further allegations.
Mr Unsworth became a target for Mr Musk after cave rescuers rejected Mr Musk’s offer of a mini-submarine created by his rocket company SpaceX to rescue the soccer team, which was finally freed after 18 days in the cave on July 10.
Mr Unsworth told CNN at the time that Mr Musk’s offer was a “PR stunt” that had no chance of working and that Musk could “stick his submarine where it hurts.”
However he said that did not justify Mr Musk’s use of Twitter and the media to defame him. Mr Musk called Mr Unswworth a “pedo,” tweeting: “Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it.”
He went on to accuse the Briton of moving to Thailand to be with a bride who was about 12 years old.
Mr Musk apologised on July 18, referring to Mr Unsworth in saying “his actions against me do not justify my actions against him,” and that “the fault is mine and mine alone.”
However the complaint said that in the August 30 email, Musk urged a BuzzFeed reporter to “stop defending child rapists,” and then said Mr Unsworth spent decades in Thailand until moving to Chiang Rai, “renowned for child sex-trafficking,” to take a 12-year-old bride.
The case adds to a slew of litigation against Mr Musk, including over his running of Palo Alto, California-based Tesla, which the billionaire has said has caused him severe stress.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
AP, Reuters
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