Readers React: One group that long ago soured on Elon Musk: L.A. Times letter writers

Arguably the most successful of Elon Musk’s post-PayPal ventures sits in Los Angeles’ backyard — Hawthorne-based SpaceX — and the billionaire rocket builder and electric car innovator now wants to rescue Los Angeles commuters from their daily freeway slogs by opening a network of tunnels in which they may one day be whisked between L.A. International Airport and Dodger Stadium in 10 minutes.

But for all this local success and service-minded enterperneurship, there’s been one group of people who long ago became Musk skeptics: newspaper readers in Los Angeles.

For years, Musk benefited from adulatory media coverage even though his most high-profile venture, electric car maker Tesla Inc., built products almost exclusively for drivers who could afford $80,000 sedans and never made a profit. Now that Tesla faces increased scrutiny and criticism over its failure to meet production targets on its first mass-market electric vehicle and the treatment of its factory workers, Musk has started lashing out at journalists in a way many have compared to President Trump.

Times letter writers have expressed skepticism about Musk for years. Recently, that skepticism has turned into criticism.

Perry Fein of Los Angeles questions the timing of Musk’s turn on the media:

Musk’s sudden bout of righteous indignation regarding the news media’s “credibility” seems to be primarily self-serving. While there are legitimate problems with the way that news is being reported by a great many publications, the timing of Musk’s outrage is highly suspect.

I can’t recall the entrepreneur ever having an issue with the way the news media operated before his company began receiving bad press. This strikes me as being a transparently opportunist move, and much like Trump, Musk seems to not care how much damage he does to the Fourth Estate.

There is nothing inherently wrong with Musk’s idea to create a platform to keep journalism honest. What concerns me is the potential for this idea to further curtail the free press, which has already been affected by demagoguery and a cult of ignorance.

Agoura Hills resident Bill Brock also compares Musk to the president:

Musk is at it again with his impersonation of Trump by degrading people who do not agree with him.

This is money talking: “I can do and say what I want because I have money. And, I have attorneys who make it impossible for you to do anything about it because you don’t have enough money for attorneys.”

Most of us want lots of money for the simple reason that it allows us to do and say what we want when we want to, and not be worried about the results. Musk and Trump are both under pressure, and both react to it the same way.

John Snyder of Newbury Park wonders how long Musk can keep Tesla afloat:

I was excited when I first read that Tesla would try to build a car that would cost about $35,000.

But the production problems are bringing to mind more and more phrases like “now you see it, now you don’t,” and “keep your eye on the pea under the cup.”

Musk may be doing what he needs to keep Tesla alive for the moment, but how long can he keep going on this way? Hype is going to carry him only so far.

I do know I don’t want to be anywhere nearby when the lava hits the ocean.

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