Elon Musk denied apology from British diver, says comments were not 'personal'

The British diver who filed a lawsuit against Tesla CEO, Elon Musk for calling him a 'pedo guy' has denied apologising for his statements in an interview with an international media outlet. Vernon Unsworth gained popularity for playing a significant role in rescuing 12 boys along with their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand in 2018. However, when Musk offered a mini-submarine from his company, the cave diver called it a 'PR stunt' and that the Tesla CEO could 'stick his submarine where it hurts'.

However, during the third day in the defamation trial, Unsworth has denied to apologise to Musk for the comments of July 13 and said that his insult was to the tube and not a personal attack on Musk. He further said that he is 'not sure' what is the need for him to apologise to Tesla CEO. The British diver's testimony began on December 4 after Musk testified in two days.  

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Musk's hearing

Musk testified at his defamation trial on December 3 and said that his 'pedo guy' tweet was in response to an 'unprovoked' insult by the man who was suing him. The high-tech entrepreneur also said that the tweet which is the centre of the trial against him was not meant to be taken literally. The 48-year-old billionaire even apologised to the plaintiff from the witness stand in the Los Angeles court. 

Unsworth has accused the SpaceX CEO of falsely labelling him a paedophile on Twitter and is currently seeking unspecified punitive along with other money damages. Musk's questioning by Unsworth's lawyer was reportedly seated by five women and three men jurors. The SpaceX CEO insisted that the tweet being scrutinised was his reaction to an 'unprovoked attack' on what was a good-natured attempt to help the kids stuck in a flooded cave. Musk further said that the statement made by the diver was 'wrong and insulting', therefore he insulted him back.

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Tesla CEO thought that Unsworth was 'some random creepy guy' which was not related to the rescue of the kids. On being questioned further, the 48-year-old said that he did not mean Unsworth was a paedophile in the similar way the diver did not mean to 'sodomize' Musk with a submarine. And then, saying that he had already apologised for his tweet, he again said 'sorry' while reportedly looking directly at the plaintiff.

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