> Even worse he's the guy willing to falsely accuse someone of being a child rapist because that person pointed out he had simply tried a publicity stunt that failed, badly, and his tech solution to a cave rescue with a huge media focus was actually worse than useless.

The impression I get is that was just a silly attempt at tit for tat. E.g. guy says "You're doing X for Y bad reasons!" while not having any evidence that you're doing things for Y reasons, so you shoot back with something in the same vein. Y being either "getting publicity" and "being a pedo" respectively.

Yeah, they're not really the same severity of accusation/insult (particularly as Musk has a bigger megaphone), but raising the stakes is common if someone starts a fight with you.

Also note: "Richard Stanton, leader of the international rescue diving team, urged Musk to continue construction of the mini-submarine as a back-up, in case flooding worsened."