Billionaire entrepreneur, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday, 23 May, criticised the media in a series of tweets, stating that he was going to create a news website which would let users track and rate the credibility of the journalist and the publication.
He even added that he was “thinking” of calling it Pravda, after what was once Soviet Union’s primary propoganda outlet.
Musk said that even if the public did not care about credibility, journalists and publications will, as they would “define themselves” by it.
Musk Calls Out the“Holier-Than-Thou” Hypocrisy of Media
Earlier in the day, Musk tweeted about the “holier-than-thou hypocricy” of media organisations, alleging that they publish only to “sugarcoat the lie.”
Musk's criticism of the media comes after critical coverage of Tesla missing its Model 3 production goals, along with a spat with the government over an autopilot crash investigation, reported The Wall Street Journal.
Earlier in May, Musk reportedly lashed out at a nonprofit news organisation ‘Revel’ for publishing a report that raises questions about safety conditions at Tesla factories.
Twitter Likens Musk to Trump on “Attacking Media”
Responding to Musk’s series of tweets, directed towards the media and its credibility, Twitterati likened him to US President Donald Trump, infamous for calling mainstream news channels “fake news.”
While Trump “attacks” the media when they question his political moves, Musk seems to be following the trend in terms of anyone daring to question his company’s functioning or success rates, users pointed out.
When Musk saw that was being compared to the controversial 45th President of the United States, he said in a following tweet:
Twitterati, not one to let things go easy, responded immediately.
Musk Blames Public Apathy in Indulging Media
In yet another follow-up tweet, Musk said:
Problem is journos are under constant pressure to get max clicks & earn advertising dollars or get fired.
He further suggested that since Tesla did not “advertise” like fossil fuel companies and gas or diesel car companies, the media was not as favourable to it.
Twitterati, especially journalists, did not take Musk’s tweets well. Several said that he had opened a can of worms as no one has yet been unfair to him.
To all of these comments, Musk had one more thing to say. In a conclusive tweet, he said:
If you’re in media and don’t want Pravda to exist, write an article telling your readers to vote against it.
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