Elon Musk again calls Thailand cave rescuer 'child rapist'

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has once again berated a British diver involved in the rescue of 12 children and their coach from a Thai cave as a "child rapist", the media reported.

In an email to a journalist, Musk launched the fresh tirade against Vernon Unsworth, 63, without providing any document to support his allegations, the Guardian reported on Wednesday.

Unsworth was part of the international team that freed the 12 young footballers and their coach from the Tham Luang cave complex two weeks after they went inside on June 23 and got trapped.

Musk called Unsworth a "single white guy from England who's been travelling 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".

Musk had in July also called Unsworth a "pedo" in a tweet.

After facing widespread backlash Musk, who had unsuccessfully attempted to assist the rescue mission, eventually apologised to Unsworth.

"Elon Musk sent me an email last week. In it, he accused a British cave rescuer of being "a child rapist" who took a "12-year-old bride." He didn't provide any evidence of those claims. He also called me a "fucking asshole," Ryan Mac, a reporter at the Buzzfeed, said in a tweet.

Unsworth, who said he was considering legal action after the original insults on Twitter, is now filing a lawsuit, his lawyer said in an email to the Guardian.

Musk's email to BuzzFeed 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…

About the lawsuit, Musk said: "Nothing was sent..., I fucking hope he sues me."

According to BuzzFeed, it could not locate any UK criminal records for Unsworth.

The controversy comes at a time when Tesla and Musk continue to battle intense negative publicity and embarrassing controversies.

--IANS

rt/sed