Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that he did not accuse British diver Vern Unsworth of being a pedophile when he referred to him as "pedo guy" in a tweet.
Musk's lawyers argued in court documents that the term "pedo" in South Africa where Musk grew up is commonly used to refer to a "creepy old man".
Unsworth, who helped rescue the 12 Thai boys trapped in the Tham Luang cave in 2018, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Musk.
The dispute between Musk and Unsworth started with an interview the British diver did with CNN TV. Unsworth said that the miniature submarine Musk sent to help with the rescue in Thailand would not work and was just a publicity stunt and then added that Musk could "stick his submarine where it hurts".
Musk retaliated to Unsworth by calling him "pedo guy" in a tweet but later removed the tweets and apologized following public outcry. This prompted Unsworth to sue Musk for defamation in Los Angeles, California.
Musk said "I did not intend to accuse Mr Unsworth of engaging in acts of pedophilia. In response to his insults in the CNN interview, I meant to insult him back by expressing my opinion that he seemed like a creepy old man." However, he also stated in the court documents that his aide hired a private investigator who "reported that Mr Unsworth associated with Europeans who engage in improper sexual conduct in Thailand".
Unsworth, who has been partly living with his 41-year-old partner in Thailand, has denied all allegations and his lawyer Lin Wood stated "Musk's motion is as offensive to the truth and the sworn testimony developed in this case as was his initial false and heinous accusation of pedophilia."
Musk's tweets, on several occasions, have caused controversy. He reached a settlement agreement in April with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over his tweets, which also resulted to restrictions in his Twitter use.
The defamation trial is set to start on December 2.
