Musk slammed for calling Thai cave rescuer 'Pedo'
San Francisco, July 16 : SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk was slammed on social media on Sunday for attacking a British diver who helped rescue the boys trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand, baselessly calling him a "pedo" on Twitter.
Vern Unsworth, the British cave explorer, had said in an interview that Musk's attempt to help the rescue effort with a "mini-sub" was a "PR stunt".
Reacting to Unsworth, Musk tweeted on Sunday: "Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it".
Twelve boys and their football coach were rescued from the Tham Luang cave complex last week by an international team after a week-long intense drama.
Musk offered to assist the rescue mission by providing a submarine but the request was turned down on the ground that it would be unworkable. He later lashed out saying that he would make a video proving that his "mini-sub" would have been successful, the Guardian reported. Musk's controversial tweet was later deleted.
Earlier, Unsworth took on Musk in a widely-shared interview, saying the "mini-sub" "just had absolutely no chance of working".
"He had no conception of what the cave passage was like. The submarine, I believe, was about 5-feet 6-inch long, rigid, so it wouldn't have gone round corners or round any obstacles," Unsworth was quoted as saying.
When a Twitter user pointed out that Musk was "calling the guy who found the children a pedo", the billionaire responded: "Bet ya a signed dollar it's true."
Some Twitter users lashed out at Musk, saying how "dangerous" and irresponsible it was to make such a serious allegation and to broadcast a potentially libelous insult to his over 22 million followers.
Musk has repeatedly come under fire for his behaviour on Twitter and for Tesla's PR strategy, under which it aggressively attacks critics and journalists.
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Putin in close contact with Gulf leaders to facilitate de-escalation: Kremlin
Moscow (PTI): Russian President Vladimir Putin is making all possible efforts to de-escalate the crisis in the Gulf and is in close contact with the regional leaders as Iran is retaliating with massive strikes on the US facilities and infrastructure on their territories, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
The US and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran on Saturday, assassinating 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alongside family members, including his daughter and grandchildren. Since then, Iran has targeted multiple US bases in the surrounding Gulf States.
"Putin will certainly make every effort to facilitate at least a minor easing of tensions. In this regard, we discussed with virtually all of our interlocutors yesterday," the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"Taking advantage of the dialogue we maintain with the Iranian leadership, (President) Putin will convey his deep concern regarding the strikes on their infrastructure to our colleagues in Iran," he added.
According to the Kremlin, Putin spoke by telephone with leaders of Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
In his telephonic conversation with Crown Prince and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, Putin discussed the escalating situation in the region as a result of the American-Israeli armed aggression against Iran.
“Both sides expressed serious concern over the real risks of escalation of the conflict, which has already affected several Arab countries and is fraught with catastrophic consequences. In this context, Vladimir Putin underscored the urgent need to resolve the current extremely dangerous situation through political and diplomatic means,” the Kremlin said.
On Monday, Putin also had telephonic contacts with the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who currently chairs the Gulf Cooperation Council, Emir of the State of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“Exchange of views was held regarding the unprecedented escalation around Iran as a result of US and Israeli aggression, which is bringing the entire region to the brink of a full-scale war with unpredictable consequences. Sides underscored the need for a swift cessation of hostilities to prevent the situation from spiralling completely out of control and to return it to a political and diplomatic framework,” the Kremlin said.
The current developments, in particular, threaten the security of many Arab states with which Russia maintains friendly relations.
Given this, President Putin reaffirmed Russia's readiness to use all available means to actively contribute to stabilising the situation in the region, the Kremlin said, adding that contacts with the Gulf leaders will continue.
