Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has taken to Twitter this morning questioning why the handful of Model S fires which haven’t killed or injured anyone get more headlines than the numerous gas car fires which have happened. His tweet in full:
Why does a Tesla fire w no injury get more media headlines than 100,000 gas car fires that kill 100s of people per year?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2013
Tesla’s Musk continues his fight against the media Musk has been repeatedly questioning why the media is so hyper-focused on the three Model S fires which have happened in the last five weeks. No one riding in the Tesla vehicle was injured or killed, and yet thousands of people die in fires which happen in gasoline cars. He makes a very good point here, and this is a point many non-mainstream media outlets have been making since the fires happened.
Tesla’s Musk kicks off a conversation
After Elon Musk’s tweet this morning, a number of Twitter users responded with their ideas of why a fire in one of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s vehicles is such big news. I’ll embed some of the more interesting ones here:
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@elonmusk Because you’re the one innovating and disrupting an already ‘saturated’ market.. keep going and don’t look back!
— Ahmed Ghanem (@A91G) November 19, 2013
@elonmusk natural distrust of a relatively new technology + intense spotlight on tesla as a company. (not suggesting it’s logical.)
— Chris Ziegler (@zpower) November 19, 2013
@elonmusk 3 simple reasons: your stock price, the newness of EVs and an aura surrounding you and the co.
— Chris Ciaccia (@Chris_Ciaccia) November 19, 2013
@elonmusk Because a Tesla catching fire is new and unusual in a way that a gas-powered vehicle fire isn’t.
— Justin Hyde (@Justin_Hyde) November 19, 2013
Tesla requests investigation of Model S fires
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has been nothing but proactive since these fires happened. The company actually requested that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigate the Model S fires to see if any improvement could be made in the vehicle. And yet, most mainstream media outlets focus on the fact that the agency has launched an investigation and not that Tesla actually requested it. The company clearly cares about its customers’ safety.
Shares of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) received a boost today after it was revealed that Tesla requested the investigation. Shares rose more than 4% have a bad day on Monday. A relatively unknown hedge fund has seen a 72% gain so far this year thanks to their bet on Tesla. That was as of the end of September.
DISCLOSURE: I do not own any shares of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA).
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