Elon Musk says ‘pedo guy’ tweet was response to ‘unprovoked’ insult, as defamation trial begins
- Tesla boss had lashed out after British diver Vernon Unsworth, who helped lead 2018 Thai cave rescue, called offer of mini-submarine a PR stunt
- Musk has apologised for comment, saying he did not know Unsworth was involved in operation to save Thai soccer team
Tesla co-founder Elon Musk said Tuesday he did not literally call a British caver a paedophile during their infamous spat on Twitter, telling a Los Angeles federal court that he had simply defended himself from “unprovoked” insults.
The tech billionaire told the defamation trial jury he had been “upset” when he described British diver Vernon Unsworth – who helped rescue youth soccer players trapped in a cave in Thailand – as “pedo guy” in a tweet.
During the July 2018 row, Unsworth had described the 48-year-old entrepreneur’s proposal to build a mini-submarine to rescue the boys as a “PR stunt”.
“It was an unprovoked attack on a good-natured attempt to rescue the kids,” Musk, dressed in a black suit and dark tie, told the courtroom Tuesday.
“I was upset.”
“It was wrong and insulting and so I insulted him back,” he said.