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A BRITISH CAVER who helped rescue 12 boys from a Thai cave says he may take legal action against Elon Musk after the entrepreneur made unsubstantiated allegations against him.
Tesla CEO Musk launched the extraordinary tirade against Vernon Unsworth without providing any justification or explanation, after the cave expert slammed his offer of a miniature submarine to extract the footballers from the Tham Luang cave as a “PR stunt”.
The “Wild Boar” team were rescued last week by an international team of divers through a narrow network of twisting, flooded tunnels.
Unsworth, who provided mapping knowledge of the cave to rescuers, said Musk’s prototype would have had “absolutely no chance of working”.
Musk responded yesterday in a bizarre series of tweeted insults referring to Unsworth without using his name.
He then doubled down on those insults, tweeting from his official account to more than 22 million followers: “Bet ya a signed dollar it’s true”.
Musk later deleted the tweets and did not immediately respond to a request for comment through Tesla.
Unsworth told AFP 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.”
‘Ain’t finished’
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.
Unsworth, who lives part of the year in Thailand, took part in the gargantuan 18-day effort to retrieve the 12 boys and their coach, a mission that ended on 10 July when the last five members were extracted.
The boys got stuck in the cave after wandering in on 23 June after football practice only to find themselves trapped by rising floodwaters.
They were found nine days later on a muddy embankment several kilometres inside.
The unprecedented operation to haul them out involved sedating the footballers and swimming and carrying them through tight, waterlogged passages.
The boys are all in good health and expected to be released from the hospital on Thursday.
Musk’s tweets prompted condemnation from those who took part in the mission to save the boys.
Claus Rasmussen, a Danish national and instructor at Blue Label Diving in Phuket, called the allegations “inappropriate” and praised Unsworth’s role in the rescue.
“He was the guy who effectively mapped most of that cave,” he told AFP.
He was one of the driving forces in getting everything done and clarifying for us divers what was going on.
Musk had earlier provoked condemnation after tweeting that the Thai rescue chief, who had declined the submarine prototype offer, was not really in charge of the operation.
Still better than half the dumps on daft in Dublin city.
At about the same price and all.
Did ya give her a good wash ?
1500 a month is not bad when you include WiFi, Cable tv and a cleaner/butler. Gym included. This is what our city’s need. They look pretty cool IMO
Swankier and bigger than my first bedsit! lol
I like the way a cleaner comes in once a week as standard.
Was expecting worse, can only imagine what they’ll be like in 20years time
Could do with these in dublin 500 would be snapped up in hours..
Well its official the future will in fact be like The 5th Element…
Exactly what came to mind, haha.
I’d take it if it comes with a Lelu in the shower…
So rich people’s homes are getting bigger and the ordinary everyday person’s home gets smaller and smaller and some people are OK with that? The problem is not with people building them, it’s with people buying them. I hope that if anything like this gets built in Dublin that people don’t buy them. They only serve to maximise profits for the developer and nothing else.
Currently living in NYC and paying $1000 to live with 4 other people in an apartment with no living room and a shared bathroom. I’d 100% be up for living in one of these.
Adly needed in dublin they would be snapped up in hours… look nice for a micro apartment
roof over the head. all the essentials, heat, water, toilet, kitchen, electriciy etc what more do you u need. id be happy out living there. close to work/college etc. this is the way its going to have to go. 7 billion people on this planet and increasing. 5th element is imminent :-)
Great idea, with all that space down by the Dublin docklands these would be ideal for students and those entering the workforce, they would hold there value and always be in demand…
A much better use of space that what you have in the surrounding areas of the city centre, large houses with front and back gardens, usually only 1 elderly person living in them in a lot of the most expensive houses..
You could go a little stir crazy if you did much more than sleep in such a micro apartment.
That’s a burglar in pic 1.
A single’s pad for someone with very little possessions, very few books, no need to entertain visitors and able to manage lean living.
Could be OK if you were just to use it as second residence for the working week or something though?
Jenga with caravans.
Kitchen ‘slash’ bathroom
Bigger than some apts in Seoul
What does Alan Kelly think of these spacious accommodations? That’s the lad to chop off a few metres.
Minister Kelly was genuinely dismissive of these rabbit hutches.
He said that he could do smaller by taking plans of prison cells in Mountjoy and doing a variation on these. He is considering contracting this out to DO B
Minister Kelly explained that the more separate households the more households to pay water charges.
“large windows that slide open on to a false balcony” – sounds dangerous- open door on to what I think is a balcony and put my foot out into open air and fall 10 storeys?
If you were on your own you wouldn’t want anything bigger. It’s only birds that want gaffs so big there’s rooms you don’t even go in to and you spend half of one of your days the weekend cleaning the kip
I have a bigger caravan
In New York?
Yes I pulled in there on top of the trump tower last week. I be selling a few gate tomorrow if your interested sir
1500 is a great price for NYC
Nice.
It’s in Kips Bay :)
City living for singles or first time renters of the future
Now try bringing this concept to Ireland, and everyone loses their minds…
First dates would be most efficient. From popcorn and soda, to making bacon at the switch of a button…
I need to go the toilet
have your say