Elon Musk, in a now-deleted Tweet, called the British diver Vern Unsworth a pedophile. Elon Musk, however, apologized to him in a tweet. Musk wrote on Twitter –
Vern Unsworth played a major role in organizing the rescue for the 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded Thai cave this month. Elon Musk had offered to provide a small submarine for the rescue operation. Unsworth labeled Musk’s suggestion as being a “PR stunt.” In response to it, Musk called him a pedophile. This comment cost the whole Tesla company as their shares declined 2.8 percent on Monday. This would not be the first time that Musk’s name came up in a controversy.
Musk has a history of controversial outbursts. Gene Munster from Loup Ventures urged Musk to cool down a little as his erratic comments have been hurting the company’s business and shaking investor confidence. After Tesla shares fell 22 percent in March, Musk jokingly tweeted that the company had gone bankrupt. After this incident, he reportedly hung up on the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board who was investigating a crash involving a Model X driver.
In May, he termed the queries of analysts about the orders for the Model 3 sedan as “boring, bonehead questions.” James Anderson, a partner and portfolio manager at Bailie Gifford & Co., urged Musk to focus on the company’s core tasks and Munster said that his behavior is fueling the unhelpful perception of his leadership which is sort of a warning to Musk.
