Elon Musk will go on trial in December for defamation after calling a British caver who rescued a group of trapped Thai children “a pedo guy”.

Vernon Unsworth, a British expat living in Thailand, masterminded the rescue of 12 members of a local football team who were lost in a cave in July 2018. Mr Musk flew to the scene and offered to send a submarine to help, but Mr Unsworth dismissed the offer as a publicity stunt – leading the two men to exchange a barrage of insults.

Mr Unsworth called Mr Musk’s proposal a “stunt” and told him to “stick his submarine where it hurts”.

Mr Musk called Mr Unsworth a “pedo guy” and subsequently a “child rapist” after Mr Unsworth mocked the plan to rescue the players using a mini-submarine.

Mr Unsworth sued for defamation in August 2018.