-
Advertisement
Thailand
AsiaSoutheast Asia

Elon Musk apologises to British caver for ‘pedo’ slur but could still face legal action

Musk’s extraordinary tirade against Vernon Unsworth was widely condemned, raising concerns over the entrepreneur’s leadership following a series of previous social media attacks

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Photo: Reuters
Agence France-Presse

Elon Musk has apologised for calling a British caver who helped rescue 12 Thai boys from a cave a “pedo”, retracting a comment that had drawn widespread outrage and briefly sent shares in Tesla tumbling.

Tesla CEO Musk issued the apology on Wednesday to Vernon Unsworth, who worked on the rescue of the “Wild Boars” football team and had ridiculed Musk’s plan to recover the trapped group using a miniature submarine.

“[H]is 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,” Musk wrote on Twitter. “The fault is mine and mine alone.”

Advertisement

“Pedo” is short for paedophile.

Advertisement

Musk’s extraordinary tirade against Unsworth was widely condemned, raising concerns over the entrepreneur’s leadership following a series of previous social media attacks on Wall Street analysts, journalists and employees.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x