Elon Musk claims Brit cave rescue hero is ‘child rapist’ in shocking rant

Billionaire tycoon Elon Musk has labelled a hero British diver involved in the Thai cave rescue a "child rapist" in yet another shocking rant.

The Tesla CEO’s unsubstantiated claims comes just weeks after he called diver Vern Unsworth "pedo guy" in an astonishing Twitter attack.

He later issued an apology after the earlier rant sparked a huge public backlash, as well as threats of a lawsuit from a furious Mr Unsworth.

But in a new expletive-ridden email, which surfaced last night, he reignites his baseless attack on the diver, 63, who lives in Chiang Rai, Thailand.

As well as calling Mr Unsworth a "child rapist", Mr Musk accuses him of moving to the Asian country to take a child bride aged "about 12 years old".

Mr Unsworth, who has denied the accusations, has reportedly been with his girlfriend, aged 40, for seven years.

In the rambling email, sent to Buzzfeed News last week, Mr Musk says: "I suggest that you call people you know in Thailand, find out what’s actually going on and stop defending child rapists, you f****** a**hole.

"He’s an old, single white guy from England who’s been traveling to or living in Thailand for 30 to 40 years, mostly Pattaya Beach, until moving to Chiang Rai for a child bride who was about 12 years old at the time."

He goes on to claim: "There’s only one reason people go to Pattaya Beach. It isn’t where you’d go for caves, but it is where you’d go for something else.

"Chiang Rai is renowned for child sex-trafficking."

The tech entrepreneur also alleges that Mr Unsworth "wasn’t on the cave dive rescue team and most of the actual dive team refused to hang out with him."

"I wonder why," he writes.

He sent the email to a BuzzFeed reporter after he was allegedly asked twice for comment "on a legal threat from the rescuer’s lawyer".

In the correspondence, he also writes: "As for this alleged threat of a lawsuit, which magically appeared when I raised the issue (nothing was sent or raised beforehand), I f***ing hope he sues me."

While Mr Musk prefaced one email – including the "child rapist" claim – with “off the record,” the reporter says he did not agree to the condition.

The journalist added: "Off the record is a two-party agreement."

According to the news site, Mr Musk did not provide any proof of his allegations and Mr Unsworth denied them through his attorney.

In July, the tycoon branded Mr Unsworth "pedo guy" in a bizarre series of Tweets, just days after 12 schoolboys and their football coach were rescued from a cave where they had been trapped for more than two weeks.

The founder of Tesla and SpaceX had claimed his prototype submarine could be used to rescue the group stuck in the flooded Tham Luang cave.

But after the boys were saved, Mr Unsworth told CNN that Mr Musk, 47, "can stick his submarine where it hurts".

He claimed it had "absolutely no chance of working" and it was a "PR stunt".

In an explosive Twitter tirade, Mr Musk hit back, raging to his 22 million followers: “Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it.”

Following his insult, Tesla’s share price tumbled.

There is absolutely nothing to suggest Mr Unsworth, who played a vital role in the rescue and has been hailed as a hero, is a paedophile.

But in a series of tweets containing the claim, Mr Musk, who visited the cave, also alleged: “Never saw this British expat guy who lives in Thailand (sus) at any point when we were in the caves.

“Only people in sight were the Thai navy/army guys, who were great. Thai navy seals escorted us in — total opposite of wanting us to leave.

“Water level was actually very low & still (not flowing) — you could literally have swum to Cave 5 with no gear, which is obv how the kids got in.

“If not true, then I challenge this dude to show final rescue video."

The word "sus" is commonly used in the US as abbreviation for "suspicious".

He went on: "You know what, don’t bother showing the video. We will make one of the mini-sub/pod going all the way to Cave 5 no problemo."

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Mr Musk later deleted the insult and apologised on Twitter, replying to a tweet linking to a Quora article explaining his company’s involvement in the cave rescue mission.

He wrote: “As this well-written article suggests, my words were spoken in anger after Mr. Unsworth said several untruths & suggested I engage in a sexual act with the mini-sub, which had been built as an act of kindness & according to specifications from the dive team leader.

“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."

But Mr Unsworth expressed his fury at the billionaire’s remarks.

He earlier said: "I’ve been approached by British lawyers, American lawyers. I haven’t decided what to do next yet."

The diver told Reuters he "can’t let it go", adding: "There’s too much out there already."

And when asked why he thought Mr Musk would make such a comment about him, he said: "I don’t know."

The tycoon’s submarine, named "Wild Boar" after the football team, was built from rocket parts during the cave rescue mission.

He claimed his device could fit through small gaps and was light enough to be carried by two divers.

Born in South Africa, Mr Musk has been a citizen of the US since 2002.

It is believed that he is currently worth around $20billion.

He is the co-founder and CEO of Tesla, which currently dominates the fast-growing market for premium battery cars.

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