Elon Musk revives 'pedo' controversy in Twitter spat
FILE PHOTO: Tesla Motors Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk pauses during a news conference in Tokyo September 8, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo
Elon Musk, billionaire and CEO of Tesla Motors, on Wednesday (Aug 29) revived a controversy over comments he had made against a British cave diver, whom he called a paedophile.
Cave diver Vernon Unsworth helped to rescue 12 schoolboys and their coach who were stuck in the Tham Luang cave complex last month. He had criticised Musk's proposal for the use of a mini-submarine in the operation, calling it a "PR stunt" and said that the prototype had "absolutely no chance of working".
Musk called him a "pedo" when refuting Unsworth's claims in a tweet. Musk has since apologised for making the baseless claim, adding that he had said it out of anger. Unsworth had said he was considering taking legal action against Musk.
READ: Elon Musk apologises to British cave diver for 'pedo' slur
On Wednesday, Musk revived the controversy in a Twitter spat with Drew Olanoff, the vice-president for communications at venture capital firm Scaleworks.
He was responding to a tweet by Olanoff, who told Musk that his "dedication to facts and truth would have been wonderful" if he had applied it to when he "called someone a pedo".
Musk told Olanoff that he found it strange that Unsworth has not sued him, adding that Unsworth was even offered "free legal services".
Musk responded to her post denying that he had cried during the interview.
"My voice cracked once ... there were no tears," he said.
Analysts have recently questioned the Tesla CEO's credibility as he announced plans three weeks ago to take the electric carmaker private, then abruptly abandoned them.
He had also tweeted on Aug 7 that he had "funding secured" for a buyout at US$420 a share, but this did not materialise.
"Musk's involvement in the company is critical, but now more than ever a solid #2 - someone with strong operational background that can help Tesla move from ideas to execution - is crucial," analyst Joseph Spak from RBC Capital Markets wrote in a client note.
