Cave explorer Elon Musk called a ‘pedo guy’ is preparing a lawsuit

Yuriko Nakao | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Elon Musk, co-founder and chief executive officer of Tesla 

Elon Musk’s tweets may have him in legal hot water.

Vernon Unsworth, a British cave explorer who was assisting in the rescue of a Thai youth soccer team trapped in a cave in July, is preparing a civil complaint for libel against Musk, according to a letter to Musk from Unsworth’s attorney sent to CNBC. The letter is dated August 6.

Musk blasted Unsworth on Twitter, calling him a “pedo guy” among other disparaging words, after Unsworth criticized his mini submarine plan to help rescue the trapped team. The cave explorer told CNN in July the mini submarine Musk was constructing “had absolutely no chance of working.”

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO apologized, but brought up the controversy again Tuesday by tweeting “it’s strange he hasn’t sued me? He was offered free legal services.”

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Unsworth’s attorney called Musk’s tweets “false and defamatory” in the letter. He called on Musk’s legal counsel to contact him in order to avoid litigation and to correct the allegedly false statements.

Tesla was not immediately available for comment.