Elon Musk Name Calls Thai Cave Rescue Team Member & Deletes Tweet After That

2018-07-16 , 12:34 pm

These are the differences between Elon Musk and Tony Stark:

Elon Musk makes cars and rockets while Tony Stark makes iron suits
Elon Musk’s heart is real while Tony Stark’s heart is artificial
Elon Musk’s real while Tony Stark isn’t
Elon Musk uses Twitter while Tony Stark doesn’t even know what Twitter is
Elon Musk tries to save the Thai cave boys while Tony Stark tries to save the world – many times

Now, take note of the last two points because that’s what this article is all about

The Elon Musk Thai Cave Saga so Far

According to Elon Musk himself, he had been asked to help “repeatedly” by the rescue authorities, and had apparently declined initially as he thought they had everything in control.

It was after the passing of ex-Navy Seal diver Saman Kunan that he had stepped in to help with the now-famous mini-submarines.

The rescue crew didn’t use it even when Elon Musk went personally to deliver them.

Of course, there were mixed reactions: some applaud the billionaire for helping while some see it as a PR stunt.

One member of the rescue team agree with the latter and isn’t afraid to make his views heard.

Enter Vernon Unsworth, a member of the rescue team

Now, don’t be confused: Vernon isn’t one of the divers who went into the cave, nor is he a diver. He’s a member of the team that was involved in the rescue operations.

His role is to provide information about the cave, as he’s a caver who has spent the last six years exploring the Tham Luang cave system. He was also the one who pinpointed where the boys and assistant coach could be.

The experienced caver also has been involved in other cave rescue operations in the UK.

The Interview that Sparked it All

Vernon doesn’t seem like one who would mince his words: in an interview with CNN, when asked about Elon Musk’s involvement, he gave this face…

…and said, “He can stick his submarine where it hurts.”

Following that, he continued, “It 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 foot 6 long, rigid, so it wouldn’t have gone around corners or around any obstacles. It wouldn’t have made the first fifty metres into the cave from the dive start point. It’s just a PR stunt.”

Elon Musk Struck Back

If you didn’t know, Elon Musk is a genius in both his business and in social media: using his personal brand, he managed to bring awareness of his products without spending a single cent.

Though not all is good, as seen in this example (but seriously, any publicity is good publicity).

After this interview went live, Elon Musk responded with anger:

Here’s the text if you can’t read the blue bird’s words:

“Never saw this British expat guy who lives in Thailand (sus) at any point when we were in the caves. Only people in sight were the Thai navy/army guys, who were great. Thai navy seals escorted us in – total opposite of wanting us to leave.”

Following that, he replied to someone’s comment with this:

“Water level was actually very low & still (not flowing) – you could literally have swum to Cave 5 with no gear, which is obv how the kids got in. If not true, then I challenge this dude to show final rescue video. Huge credit to pump and generator team. Unsung heroes here.”

And…another reply that got into headlines all over the world, sometimes even overshadowing France’s victory over Croatia:

“You know what, don’t bother showing the video. We will make one of the mini-sub/pod going all the way to Cave 5 no problemo. Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it.”

That was when shit hit the fan: the Tweets were then deleted.

But of course, what went to the Internet, stayed on the Internet forever, as people screenshot it and it went viral.

Boys and assistant coach are now recovering

The twelve boys and their assistant coach are now recovering well in hospital, and would be discharged on Thursday.

Because the World Cup Final match between France and Croatia ends too late, the boys weren’t allowed to watch the match live, and would watch the repeat telecast instead.

Not sure about you, but Elon Musk’s Tweets aren’t exactly the shocking news here: it’s the boys’ realization that they missed six goals in a live match that’s shocking. No?

Now you know what Singaporeans are talking about today; do check back tomorrow for another piece of news of the day!