Elon Musk facing lawsuit over tweet about British cave diver

(AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu, File)

The British cave diver who planned the rescue of 12 boys trapped in Thailand this summer is suing Tesla founder Elon Musk, who reportedly called the diver a “child rapist.”

Vernon Unsworth says he plans to sue Musk in three countries, including Thailand, where Musk could face prison time, according to the Evening Standard of London.

Unsworth is also said to be considering suing Musk for defamation in Britain and the United States, the report said.

The cave diver, 63, helped rescue the trapped soccer team from a cave but faced criticism from Musk, when Unsworth said Musk’s mini-submarine theory for rescuing the boys had “absolutely no chance of working.”

Musk was forced to apologize for his comments and removed his tweets. However, new messages emerged Tuesday with Musk making new accusations against Unsworth.

The new Musk emails, published by BuzzFeed, showed Musk launching two new claims against Unsworth without providing evidence.

One allegation was that Unsworth had traveled back and forth to Thailand and ultimately married a child bride, which Unsworth denied.

Unsworth's lawyer said he would sue Musk over both the latest and previous allegations.

The boys and their soccer coach became trapped in the cave in Tham Luang, Thailand, on June 23, and weren’t all out of the cave until July 10. One rescuer was killed during an attempt to free the group.