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Notes -
Calling the guy he picked a fight with (Vernon Unsworth) one of "the guys who saved those kids" is a bit of a stretch; he was the first diver at the cave when the kids were reported missing, and he was smart enough to advise calling the British Cave Rescue Council (4/18 of the divers who brought the kids out, 2/2 of the divers who found the kids) rather than making a stupid immediate attempt at solo heroism himself, but after that his reported contributions to the rescue were sticking around as one of 80-odd available-but-unused divers on site and belittling Musk's team's submarine work.
If someone punches you first, you can punch back, and Unsworth punched first. If someone punches you along with your employees who are working overtime to try to help save children, you definitely should punch back. Musk's submarine idea might not have helped, but trying to make more options available was a good thing; that's why Unsworth and the other 80-ish divers who didn't end up going on rescue missions were still there too.
This incident still counts as one of Musk's stupid actions, of course. Calling someone a pedophile just for being a frequent tourist in Thailand is viciously stupid in general, is immorally stupid when you're in the middle of trying to cooperate with other Thai visitors and citizens toward an important goal, and is inexcusably stupid when your primary interaction with your insult's target is entirely based around the real reason why they're a frequent tourist in Thailand. But Unsworth definitely had some insults coming; Musk just sucked badly at picking one.
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