Elon Musk Calls Cave Rescue Diver Pedophile

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Undaunted
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Elon Musk Calls Cave Rescue Diver Pedophile

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"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
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Captain Kirk
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Re: Elon Musk Calls Cave Rescue Diver Pedophile

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Disgusting.
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Bob
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Re: Elon Musk Calls Cave Rescue Diver Pedophile

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It would absolutely amaze me if Mr. Unsworth doesn't file a libel lawsuit against Musk as such an accusation is libel in almost all countries. Even If filed in the US (where such an accusation is libel per se), Musk is going to have to pay a whole lot of money to Unsworth....and justifiably so.

Based on the reports by divers that there were underwater passages in the cave so narrow that it required them to pass their scuba tanks through separate from their bodies, there is no doubt that Musk's kiddie submarine had zero chance of working. Unsworth himself said the submarine wouldn't have made it 50 meters into the first underwater passage they encountered.
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Re: Elon Musk Calls Cave Rescue Diver Pedophile

Post by Gaybutton »

Bob wrote:there is no doubt that Musk's kiddie submarine had zero chance of working.
Yes, but if Musk had known that before bringing the min-sub, he would have had no reason to bring it. And he did give it to Thailand - free. And don't forget that the mini-sub was not his only idea. Those waterproof tunnels might very well have worked and if they didn't get those boys out in the nick of time, they may have had to try it. If they had not been lucky about the weather, Musk could have been the key to getting the boys out. I admire Musk for trying, whether it was self-serving or not.

However, I certainly do not admire Musk for calling the diver a pedophile. That was definitely wrong by anyone's standards. But even if the diver files a lawsuit and wins, he would have to go to the USA to do it. In the USA even if you win a lawsuit it can still often take years, additional hearings, and a great deal of expense on the part of the plaintiff before any money changes hands, if it ever actually does. It could easily cost the diver much more than it is worth and much more than he can afford. However, if he does sue Musk, that is something I would support.
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Re: Elon Musk Calls Cave Rescue Diver Pedophile

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I was going to post a bunch of links to stories about the repercussions of his comments, but decided not to. It's a fairly major story in the US. Tesla investors are demanding an apology. The stock is falling (for more reasons than just this). The NY Times and Wash. Post, among others, have published opinion pieces about it. I even saw in article from Popular Mechanics, which I haven't heard of in twenty years! I just can't fathom why he didn't simply say how happy he was that the boys were safe and move on. I think I've returned to my original view that he'll have difficulty living this down.

One particularly egregious aspect of his comments is that he implies that any foreigner living in Thailand is a pedophile. That's insulting to a lot more people than the dive expert. In fact, it's insulting to the whole Thai nation too. If he doesn't manage to defuse this situation soon I think a lot more people will be telling him where he can stick his submarine.
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Re: Elon Musk Calls Cave Rescue Diver Pedophile

Post by fountainhall »

Gaybutton wrote:Yes, but if Musk had known that before bringing the min-sub, he would have had no reason to bring it.
Allegedly he was in correspondence with one of the British divers. But even that stretches belief because by that time the Brits were certainly well aware of the exceedingly narrow twists and turns in that tunnel which meant it was impossible for even a small rigid vehicle to get through the most tricky sections. So it seems pretty clear that if the emails with the British diver were genuine, he was merely given a general outline of the problem. And if he went ahead on the basis of generalities rather than specifics, he is a fool!
Captain Swing wrote:One particularly egregious aspect of his comments is that he implies that any foreigner living in Thailand is a pedophile. That's insulting to a lot more people than the dive expert. In fact, it's insulting to the whole Thai nation too. If he doesn't manage to defuse this situation soon I think a lot more people will be telling him where he can stick his submarine.
This has also been of major concern to me. I am sure both the diver and the Thai government are furious about it for it taints what has been a massively successful rescue that has garnered huge international media attention and acclaim. But a trial would just make it worse. I hope the British diver sues and then accepts a major cash settlement, part of which he donates to a Trust for the furtherance of the boys' education.
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Re: Elon Musk Calls Cave Rescue Diver Pedophile

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Elon Musk apologizes to cave rescuer for 'pedo' tweet

by Sherisse Pham

July 18, 2018

Elon Musk has apologized for calling one of the men involved in the Thai cave rescue mission a "pedo," or pedophile.

The Telsa (TSLA) CEO has faced an intense backlash over the unfounded claim against Vernon Unsworth, an expert caver who participated in the rescue mission that saved 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand.

Musk expressed remorse on Twitter.

The executive said that while Unsworth provoked him, "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."

Unsworth has said he is considering legal action against the tech billionaire.

Gene Munster, a top tech analyst and the managing partner at Loup Ventures, wrote an open letter to Musk urging him to rein in his outbursts and erratic behavior so he might "regain investor confidence."

"Your behavior is fueling an unhelpful perception of your leadership -— thin-skinned and short-tempered," Munster wrote in the letter posted "on behalf of investors who believe in you and your mission."

https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/18/techno ... index.html
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Re: Elon Musk Calls Cave Rescue Diver Pedophile

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I have followed the amazing career of Musk for years and there can be little doubt that he is brilliant however, as the article above states he claims to have been provoked what was the provocation?
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
Jun

Re: Elon Musk Calls Cave Rescue Diver Pedophile

Post by Jun »

From reading analyst reports, it is alleged that Elon Musk has a history of making statements about his business, which turn out to be wildly inaccurate (numerous specific examples are listed).

That he might make some outrageous defamatory statement about someone who risked himself in this rescue is outrageous, but not surprising.

The guys who actually went down the tunnel say this sub won't fit. They are best placed to comment. Any proper engineer would have asked for estimates of the tunnel size before making a sub. Musk just seized the PR opportunity & flew all the way to Thailand to try & grab some glory by putting forward an ineffective solution.

Of course, if he's sure it will go down the tunnel, well go ahead and send it to "Pattaya beach".
windwalker

Re: Elon Musk Calls Cave Rescue Diver Pedophile

Post by windwalker »

Undaunted wrote:I have followed the amazing career of Musk for years and there can be little doubt that he is brilliant however, as the article above states he claims to have been provoked what was the provocation?
The cave rescue diver said Musk could “stick his submarine where it hurts,” and that it had “absolutely no chance of working.”
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