Elon Musk has entertained the idea of creating a website named “Pravda” that will rate the credibility of journalists and media outlets.
Musk is not coping well with media criticism of Tesla, the electric car company he leads. Numerous reporters have covered Tesla’s operation over the past few months, many of them taking note that the automaker has consistently failed to meet production targets and will likely require more financial capital. Musk has slowly grown more antagonist toward negative media coverage, taking swipes at journalists from time to time.
His antipathy toward the press appeared to reach a boiling point during a tweet storm on Wednesday. Musk said he wished to create a Yelp-like website named “Pravda” — the name of the official propaganda outlet for the Soviet Union — where people can apply ratings to various journalists and news organizations. (RELATED: Tesla Might Need Another $10 Billion To Stay Afloat Through 2020)
The holier-than-thou hypocrisy of big media companies who lay claim to the truth, but publish only enough to sugarcoat the lie, is why the public no longer respects them https://t.co/Ay2DwCOMkr
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 23, 2018
Going to create a site where the public can rate the core truth of any article & track the credibility score over time of each journalist, editor & publication. Thinking of calling it Pravda …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 23, 2018
Musk’s bashing of the media has attracted comparisons to President Donald Trump, a man made famous for bashing “fake news.” In response, the Tesla CEO said Trump won the presidency because the media lost its credibility long ago and no one believes them anymore.
Thought you’d say that. Anytime anyone criticizes the media, the media shrieks “You’re just like Trump!” Why do you think he got elected in the first place? Because no ones believes you any more. You lost your credibility a long time ago.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 23, 2018
Musk also has a penchant for being sarcastic on social media. On April Fools Day, he joked on Twitter that Tesla went bankrupt, despite a “mass sale of Easter Eggs.”
Tesla has struggled to mass-produce its latest Model 3, a more compact electric vehicle meant to be more accessible to the general public, with Musk forced to scale back production goals. Goldman Sachs predicted earlier in May that Tesla will require $10 billion to stay financially afloat.
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