Tesla boss Elon Musk apologises after cave diver ‘pedo’ comments | City A.M.
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has apologised today to the British diver involved in the Thai cave rescue who Musk labelled as a “pedo” on Twitter.
Musk had described British diver Vern Unsworth as a “pedo guy” on Twitter after Unsworth had dismissed Musk’s offer of a mini-submarine for the cave rescue as a “PR stunt”.
Read more: Elon Musk could face legal action after Thai cave rescuer ‘pedo’ comments
“He can stick his submarine where it hurts,” Unsworth said. “It just has absolutely no chance of working.”
Musk’s comments hit electric carmaker Tesla’s share price with shares sliding three per cent on Monday.
This morning Musk re-tweeted an article written on Quora giving the “full story” behind Musk’s involvement in the Thai cave rescue.
Read more: Tesla shares sink after Elon Musk calls British caver ‘pedo guy’ on Twitter
Musk wrote beneath the article:
Nonetheless, his actions against me do not justify my actions against him, and for that I apologize to Mr. Unsworth and to the companies I represent as leader. The fault is mine and mine alone.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 18, 2018
“I am truly sorry if I offended anyone,” he concluded.
Musk deleted the initial tweets after initially backing up his accusation in the face of criticism tweeting “Bet ya a signed dollar it’s true”.
His comments sparked a furore among Tesla investors and Silicon Valley analysts with calls for him to apologise for the accusations.
Yesterday venture capital firm Loup Ventures published an open letter to Musk on behalf of investors saying that the outburst had shaken investor confidence and calling for an apology.
“The exchange with Vern Unsworth crossed the line. I suspect you would agree given you deleted the string from Twitter, but it will take more than that to regain investor confidence.
“Your behavior is fueling an unhelpful perception of your leadership – thin-skinned and short-tempered.
“Thankfully, the road to regaining investor confidence is well traveled. It starts with an apology,” its managing partner Gene Munster wrote.