Tesla founder Elon Musk has been in the news for some bizarre tweets by Azaelia Banks, in which the rapper claimed to have been in his house offering him business advice. But it’s Musk’s own tweets about Vern Unsworth that might land him in a bigger predicament. But who is Vern Unsworth and why is Musk attacking him?
Who is Vern Unsworth?
Who is Vern Unsworth, anyway? Musk has been locked in Twitter combat with Unsworth, a British cave diver who helped rescue the trapped Thai soccer team from a flooded cave last month, ever since Unsworth criticized an idea Musk had proposed for rescuing the team: a mini-submarine.
First, Musk tweeted baseless accusations that Unsworth was a pedophile. He had to apologize for those comments, tweeting on July 17, “My words were spoken in anger after Mr. Unsworth said several untruths & suggested I engage in a sexual act with the mini-sub.”
But Musk has revived the issue on Twitter, after an interview with the New York Times in which he lamented the strains Tesla has put on his personal life. He disputed the Times’ report that he had become tearful during the interview, which provoked former tech writer Drew Olanoff to tweet: “dedication to facts and truth would have been wonderful if applied to that time when you called someone a pedo.”
Musk then implied that Unsworth actually was. “You don’t think it’s strange he hasn’t sued me?” he tweeted. “He was offered free legal services.”
Replied Olanoff: “I think a lot of things are strange, Elon. What I think is especially strange here is that you’re wondering why he hasn’t sued you while the rest of us are wondering why you did something so egregious that he could sue you for in the first place.”
i think a lot of things are strange, elon. what i think is especially strange here is that you’re wondering why he hasn’t sued you while the rest of us are wondering why you did something so egregious that he could sue you for in the first place.
— drew olanoff (@yoda) August 28, 2018
“Did you investigate at all? I’m guessing answer is no. Why? Answer the question @yoda,” tweeted Musk, referencing Olanoff’s Twitter handle. “You brought it up, not me. Did you investigate or not? If so, what did you actually do?”
Did you investigate at all? I’m guessing answer is no. Why?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 28, 2018
Tesla hasn’t commented, but they have their hands full. Musk seems to be in a bit of a long public meltdown. Earlier this month, Musk announced plans to take Tesla private, shocking his board of directors, who knew nothing about it. Musk later retracted his statement, but it has reportedly led to an SEC investigation of the company.
