Let's review:

1. Musk offers money and engineering help

2. diver insults Musk on national TV

3. Musk insults diver on twitter

4. diver sues Musk for $195 million

5. Musk retaliates by investigating him

Neither of them are saints, and neither are "reprehensible" people. The jury in the lawsuit called it right by deliberating for one hour and then dismissing the lawsuit.

And insulting someone and engaging in libel is not the same thing, and is not a "retreat".

P.S. It's fine to write your own interpretation of my remarks, but it is not fine to put them in quotes suggesting I wrote them.