Elon Musk apologises to British caver for 'pedo' slur

[ThaiFelix]

Dont accept it.  If the tables were reversed Musk and his kind would be the first ones banging on the door with their legal teams to bankrupt the little man.

[JLCrab]

6 minutes ago, ThaiFelix said:

Dont accept it.  If the tables were reversed Musk and his kind would be the first ones banging on the door with their legal teams to bankrupt the little man.

Conversely and as total speculation, the Musk legal team may be preparing that Mr. Unsworth might very well still go ahead with legal action and, having issued an apology, that would allow the Musk legal team to bring out the big guns and say: Well we did aplogize but that obviously wasn't enough.

Edited July 18, 2018 by JLCrab

[transam]

Mr.Musk in his hi-so position knows exactly how defamation works. If he was called a   "pedo" in the media all hell would be let loose..

 

I personally know that being called something one is not "Sticks"....The no smoke without fire thing "sticks".....

 

 

Let the lawyers take the bloke for a few quid and let the media know he is out of order.......

[JLCrab]

3 minutes ago, transam said:

 

Let the lawyers take the bloke for a few quid and let the media know he is out of order.......

Corection: Let the lawyers TRY to take the bloke for a few quid ... No guarantees on this one.

Edited July 18, 2018 by JLCrab

[Morch]

The "apology" pretty much reaffirms the original comment - "a PR stunt". Kinda wish (though easy to talk not facing Musk's legal team and related expenses) diver guy would repeat the suggestion of where to put it.

 

Always irks me when people do this "if I offended anyone" bit. Duh.

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, sanemax said:

Well done Musk .

Accept it Vern and shake hands let bygones be bygones

Yes, let's please put this in the archives to be forgotten and move on.

[Jane Dough]

Sue Sue Sue! Or as the Thais say Suu Suu Suu! 

[dufusdonald]

Ok so the news media here is not very good it seems. A previous article quoted him as saying he was not a diver just an explorer of caves. Which is it? And why is he a hero if he was not one of the divers?  Just asking.  So Musk apologized. Did Unsworth?

[dufusdonald]

1 hour ago, JustAnotherFarang said:

That's not an apology.......that's the blame game. Essentially he is saying that Vern told lies and hurt his feelings about his little sub so this is why he slurred Verns good name and character by calling him a pedo.  He knows its wrong now but it is Verns fault he said it................

 

Elon would fit right in with the locals way of thinking

 

JAF

It is his fault Musk said it. If Vern didn't belittle Musk, Musk would not have retaliated. Put it this way. Unsworth insulted Musk. He slandered Musk. He basically insinuated he was a fraud.  All this in front of the world where millions of people know of the guy. Musk stands to lose face, reputation and a lot of money if people buy in to this guy's comments.  Ok, so on the other hand Musk libeled Unsworth. So at most Unsworth loses his reputation (how if nobody knows him) and what else? Nothing.  Should be easy to figure out who loses the most here all because Unsworth had some kind of clear bias and apparent dislike for Musk.  Especially since Musk was told in a tweet from one of the Brit divers in charge to keep working on the sub.  If the guy would have told Musk it would have been a waste of time I imagine Musk would have backed off.

Edited July 18, 2018 by dufusdonald

[sanemax]

Just now, dufusdonald said:

Ok so the news media here is not very good it seems. A previous article quoted him as saying he was not a diver just an explorer of caves. Which is it? And why is he a hero if he was not one of the divers?  Just asking.  So Musk apologized. Did Unsworth?

Have you not been following the story ?

Once upon a time, a football team had finished their football practice and they decided to go caving.........................................

[dufusdonald]

8 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Have you not been following the story ?

Once upon a time, a football team had finished their football practice and they decided to go caving.........................................

I think you need to re-read my post. Did this guy Unsworth do any diving?  If he did then he is a clear hero. If he didn't dive he ain't a hero. Nice guy perhaps but not a hero. Try answering the question for a change or share a link.

Edited July 18, 2018 by dufusdonald

[sanemax]

1 minute ago, dufusdonald said:

I think you need to re-read my post. Did this guy Unsworth do any diving?  If he did then he is a clear hero. If he didn't dive he ain't a hero. Nice guy perhaps but not a hero.

Have you just discovered this story ?

Havent you been following it since the beginning ?

[dufusdonald]

17 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Have you just discovered this story ?

Havent you been following it since the beginning ?

Show me a link that shows he was one of the divers who went in on the rescue. You cannot. 

[Jane Dough]

26 minutes ago, dufusdonald said:

It is his fault Musk said it. If Vern didn't belittle Musk, Musk would not have retaliated. Put it this way. Unsworth insulted Musk. He slandered Musk. He basically insinuated he was a fraud.  All this in front of the world where millions of people know of the guy. Musk stands to lose face, reputation and a lot of money if people buy in to this guy's comments.  Ok, so on the other hand Musk libeled Unsworth. So at most Unsworth loses his reputation (how if nobody knows him) and what else? Nothing.  Should be easy to figure out who loses the most here all because Unsworth had some kind of clear bias and apparent dislike for Musk.  Especially since Musk was told in a tweet from one of the Brit divers in charge to keep working on the sub.  If the guy would have told Musk it would have been a waste of time I imagine Musk would have backed off.

You seem to be a little confused.

Libel is written defamation, slander is verbal.

Mr Unsworth's  comments could never be construed as libel. In fact they may well be true.

Mr Musk's comments are almost certainly libelous. 

And it may interest you to know that in most jurisdictions the seriousness of libel does not depend on the reputation of the individual or the number of people who read it. So long as one person reads it that is enough.

And nothing that preceded the alleged libel matters except perhaps in a judges mind when decided the financial penalty.

I hope Mr Unsworth takes him to court for libel. And suggest he settles out of court.

 

[retsdon]

2 minutes ago, dufusdonald said:

Show me a link that shows he was one of the divers who went in on the rescue. You cannot. 

He wasn't  - but he was instrumental in recommending and getting hold of the guys that were. Without his efforts maybe the kids wouldn't have been found at all. He also worked with the dive team in a consultancy role.

[Ebumbu]

This is known in a "non apology" or a "conditional apology." It only applies "if" he offended anyone. This guy needs a PR team and a large sock for his mouth. Anyway, hope the heroic diver sues his nuts off. 

[Maestro]

Removed some troll posts and the replies to them.

[DrTuner]

Let's see if ol' Vern got a taste of the blood money already or not ..

[tomas557]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Unsworth is among top cave divers who joined the rescue mission for the Mu Pa Academy footballers

Why they call Unsworth a top cave diver, when in fact he isn't a cave diver at all?

 

 

Unsworth said he brought his knowledge about the cave to the rescue mission but added that he "no idea" what the diving conditions were like because he is not a cave diver.

[trainman34014]

Needs to button his lip and open his wallet !

[duanebigsby]

4 hours ago, les Dennis said:

Amazing that, his stock goes down 3.5 per cent and he musters up a half @rsed apology

The apology was issued after his stock bounced back by 4%.

[ozmeldo]

Just so we are clear, that <deleted> is inferring we are all paedophiles.

 

We should class action his <deleted>, every expat with an O or B visa.

[duanebigsby]

23 hours ago, Eligius said:

This is not a generous-spirited 'apology'. It almost spins out the conflict by calling Vern's comment 'a sexual act'. Musk seems obsessed with sex and accusing others of inappropriate sex.

 

If Musk had said something like, 'I was angry at comments Vern made, but I reacted in a totally unjustified and childish way, and I deeply apologise for impugning the character of a man who has been crucial in rescuing so many human lives. Again - I give the biggest apology possible to a man who deserves great respect, and I want everyone to know that there is not one ounce of truth in the slur that I cast on Vern's character.'

 

THAT would be an apology - not Musk's peevish little, spoilt-brat pretence of a 'sorry'.

 

While I agree that the wording you have offered up is more humble and generous, I think his apology should be considered sufficient and accepted. Vern was a bit of an ass in his public remarks too.

[monkfish]

1 hour ago, tomas557 said:

Why they call Unsworth a top cave diver, when in fact he isn't a cave diver at all?

 

 

Unsworth said he brought his knowledge about the cave to the rescue mission but added that he "no idea" what the diving conditions were like because he is not a cave diver.

As far as I know Unsworth was not one of the divers but making him one sells a better story.

[peperobi]

Good Mr. Musk, enough publicity Mr. Vern, accept the excuse and continue your life as usual.

[animalmagic]

I'd like to ask what caused Vern to make the comment in the first place?  It doesn't seem like the sort of comment anyone would make without some provocation..............just a supposition from me.

The apology seems to have been drafted by lawyers to provide some justification for the paedo slur even though it goes on to say there was no justification for it.  Very strange as the justification claims a sexual insult which wasn't there.

I don't give a monkey's if there is any further action or not, after all, I'm just a 'sus' British expat in Thailand and I don't have any Tesla shares.

[JAG]

Mr Unsworth's suggestion as to what Mr Musk could do with his submarine was simply a robust, perhaps unsubtle but commonly used English colloquialism, with no sexual context whatsoever. I suspect it was an exasperated response to Mr Musk's claims that his plan was somehow better than the one which, at significant risk of (and actual) loss of life, extricated the boys from their apparently hopeless situation. An effort in which Mr Unsworth played a significant part.

 

Mr Musk's response was, in contrast, a foul slur, which reflects on all the rescue team, and beyond on all of us who choose to live here. He has, somewhat half-heartedly and no doubt at the urging of his lawyers and financial team, made a rather inadequate apology.

 

I am not sure that there is much to be gained by legal action, but that is for Mr Unsworth to decide.

 

I will certainly never buy one of Mr Musk's products, be it an electric sports car ( unlikely any way) or any sort of power pack or battery; not that I suspect he is remotely bothered. I will watch the progress of his business, and his ego boosting antics with wry interest and who knows, perhaps some "schadenfreude".

 

Well done Mr Unsworth.

 

Edited July 19, 2018 by JAG

[Eligius]

21 minutes ago, JAG said:

Mr Unsworth's suggestion as to what Mr Musk could do with his submarine was simply a robust, perhaps unsubtle but commonly used English colloquialism, with no sexual context whatsoever. I suspect it was an exasperated response to Mr Musk's claims that his plan was somehow better than the one which, at significant risk of (and actual) loss of life, extricated the boys from their apparently hopeless situation. An effort in which Mr Unsworth played a significant part.

 

Mr Musk's response was, in contrast, a foul slur, which reflects on all the rescue team, and beyond on all of us who choose to live here. He has, somewhat half-heartedly and no doubt at the urging of his lawyers and financial team, made a rather inadequate apology.

 

I am not sure that there is much to be gained by legal action, but that is for Mr Unsworth to decide.

 

I will certainly never buy one of Me Musk's products, be it an electric sports car ( unlikely any way) or any sort of power pack or battery; not that I suspect he is remotely bothered. I will watch the progress of his business, and his ego boosting antics with wry interest and who knows, perhaps some "schadenfreude".

 

Well done Mr Unsworth.

 

Good post indeed.

Yes, Musk's claim that saying to someone 'stick your submarine up your backside' is intended to mean engaging in a sexual act - is ludicrous. I have heard that expression (or variants of it) all throughout my life, and it has never, ever, occurred to me that the speaker was referring to 'engaging in a sexual 'act' - because he was not!

 

As I said in another post, Musk seems in this recent spat somewhat obsessed with sex and sexual practices. Says more about him than about Vern.

 

 

Edited July 19, 2018 by Eligius

[kannot]

17 hours ago, JustAnotherFarang said:

Really ??  You think Vern should apologise to him............... how can you possibly think that Verns opinion of Elons sub is in any way similar to Elons slur on Verns character.  There is a world of difference but somehow you have failed to see that for yourself.

 

JAF

his opinion  would  have  been  fine if he hadnt added where he could stick it

[JLCrab]

Mr. Musk's 'apology' was offered while Mr. Unsworth seemingly is still considering possible legal action and was done in that context.

 

Some have indicated that they believe Mr. Unsworth has a solid case for libel. Maybe so. But I will also say, if there ever was a jury trial in US particularly in California and Mr. Musk's defense team played this video in the courtroom, regardless of Musk's Twitter tweets, team Unsworth might be laughed all the way back to Chiang Rai.

 

Edited July 19, 2018 by JLCrab