American tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has given a mini-submarine designed and produced specifically for the rescue of the 12 boys trapped in the Tham Luang cave as a gift to Thailand.
At about 5am yesterday, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, The Boring Company and Tesla tweeted pictures from Tham Luang cave and wrote, "Just returned from Cave 3. Mini-sub is ready if needed. It is made of rocket parts & named Wild Boar after kids' soccer team. Leaving here in case it may be useful in the future. Thailand is so beautiful."
On Sunday, Mr Musk tweeted, "Got more great feedback from Thailand. Primary path is basically a tiny, kid-size submarine using the liquid oxygen transfer tube of Falcon rocket as hull. Light enough to be carried by 2 divers, small enough to get through narrow gaps. Extremely robust."
He also posted a video clip of the mini-submarine being tested in a pool in Los Angeles on Monday, before its delivery.
After Twitter user @MabzMagz asked the tech tycoon on July 4 if he could assist in the rescue in any way, @elonmusk replied, "I suspect that the Thai govt has this under control, but I'm happy to help if there is a way to do so."
The following day, @JamesWorldSpace tweeted that the SpaceX team had reached out to his team to help connect with the Thai government.
On Sunday, Mr Musk shared the BBC news that the rescue mission had begun: "Extremely talented dive team. Makes sense given monsoon. Godspeed." and "Continue to be amazed by the bravery, resilience & tenacity of kids & diving team in Thailand. Human character at its best."
