Elon Musk apologises for calling Thai cave rescuer a paedophile

Washington, Jul 18: Elon Musk has apologised for calling a British caver who helped rescue 12 Thai boys from a cave a "pedo". "Pedo" is short for paedophile.

Tesla CEO Musk issued the apology today to Vernon Unsworth, who worked on the rescue of the "Wild Boars" football team and had dismissed Musk's plan to recover the trapped group using a miniature submarine.

"(H)is actions against me do not justify my actions against him, and for that I apologize to Mr Unsworth and to the companies I represent as leader," Musk wrote on Twitter.

"The fault is mine and mine alone," Musk firther wrote.

Unsworth told AFP on Monday he had not reviewed the tweets in full and had only heard about them.

Asked if he would take legal action against Musk over the allegation, Unsworth said: "If it's what I think it is yes."

The caver told AFP he would make a decision when he flies back to the UK this week, but said the episode with Musk "ain't finished".

"He's just a PR stunt merchant -- that's all he is," Unsworth added.