Joining the growing list of people who need their phones confiscated, Elon Musk continues to do nothing to disabuse the internet of his craziness.
The eccentric CEO took to Twitter to double down on his extraordinary claim that an expatriate British diver who played a leading role in freeing the group of Thai boys trapped in a cave is a pedophile, appearing to suggest that Vernon Unsworth would have followed through on threats to sue him if the allegation was untrue.
Musk was responding to a critical journalist on Twitter who took him to task for the accusation when he said, “You don’t think it’s strange [Unsworth] hasn’t sued me? He was offered free legal services,” he wrote.
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Musk then appeared to suggest journalists should be spending their time investigating his unsubstantiated allegation, writing, “Did you investigate at all? I’m guessing answer is no. Why?”
Musk has left the tweets online—for now.
The Tesla chairman’s initial accusation against Unsworth was triggered after the diver mocked a mini-submarine that Musk’s tunneling company, Boring, delivered for the rescue as impractical—an assessment with which many agreed.
Unsworth said he wished he could “stick [the sub] where it hurts.”
In a bizarre retaliatory tweet, Musk then called Unsworth a “pedo guy” without presenting any evidence for the allegation.
Tesla shares dived and the company’s investors issued an open letter demanding Musk apologize, which he did with a notable lack of grace.
It was just the latest period of public instability by Musk.
He is also being sued by investors and investigated by regulators after tweeting this month that he intended to take his publicly traded company private at a “$420” a share, with the assurance: “Funding secured.”
The statement caused Tesla shares to shoot up, hurting short sellers. Musk has now retreated from the claim.
Days after the Tesla share-price tweet, Musk gave a shocking interview to The New York Times in which he said the past year had been “excruciating” and the “most difficult and painful of my career.” He was also forced to deny he was “on weed” when he wrote the $420 per share remark and admitted to regular Ambien use.
The Times reported that some board members believe that sometimes “the drug does not put Mr. Musk to sleep but instead contributes to late-night Twitter sessions.”
Earlier this year it emerged that Musk had cut off relations with his father Errol, after Errol fathered a child with his own stepdaughter.
The Times said Musk wept as he said he had been working up to 120 hours a week and neglecting his health. He also appealed for someone “who can do the job better” to take over his role.
The latest outburst against Unsworth came after Musk was involved in a back and forth denying that he had cried in that New York Times interview, saying only that his “voice cracked once.”
The Times had described Musk as alternating “between laughter and tears” during the interview.
In a back and forth about his tears or lack of them, Musk was tackled by journalist Drew Olanoff about his Unsworth remarks.
This is how the exchange unfolded.
