Elon Musk: The great anti-media rant and Tesla Model 3 woes

If there is one particular CEO feeling the strain right now, it is Elon Musk of Tesla fame. Not only is he worrying about reusable rockets and drilling long tunnels, he is trying to make electric cars a mainstream item, with production of the 'affordable' Model 3 key to that.

The problem is that the Model 3 has been difficult to produce at speed, with orders around 2,270 units a week. To fulfil the record-breaking 500,000 pre-orders worldwide would take some time ─ time Musk is short on based on the rate money is being consumed.

No wonder, then, Musk has made some jokes to let off steam, including a photo of him claiming Tesla was bankrupt, and a tequila ─ 'Teslaquila', as he calls it ─ manufacturing plan. He then had a rant at investors in an earnings call, which will have certainly ruffled some important, cash-carrying feathers.

Showing signs he is only human, Musk's latest Twitter rage/meltdown/reality check [delete as appropriate] has focussed on the media.

"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," he said on Twitter.

To be fair, the anti-Tesla musings of some writers has been painful to watch ─ as if they have shares in General Motors. Or have zero understanding of how electric cars operate.

He continued: "Anytime anyone criticises the media, the media shrieks: 'You are just like trump!' Why do you think he got elected in the first place? Because no one believes you anymore. You lost your credibility a long time ago."

Also valid, to be fair, given that Trump is indeed the one with America's nuclear button at his fingertips (stop provoking him, North Korea!) and much of the media seemed just as blind-sided by the Britain's Brexit vote outcome. The only thing marginally surprising was then Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to let Dave from Cornwall have a say.

Biting the hand that feeds is, of course, a bad idea as at some point Musk may need another cash injection to carry him to the point where Tesla starts making money, which is seemingly still feasible.

But biting two hands, the latest one being rather necessary given that Tesla spends absolutely nothing on advertising (unlike its largely cash rich competitors)? Seems like a bad move to us, even if a by-product is reinforcing the strength of the most loyal Teslarati.

Musk being Musk, his rant lead to an actually quite viable idea. To solve the media's "credibility" problem, he said he would create something called 'Pravda' (Russian for truth). He actually tried to buy the domain, but turns out Ukraine owns it. So he now has Pravduh.com instead.

What would it do? "Track the core truth of any article and track the credibility score over time of each journalist, editor and publication," he explained. He should probably add a spellchecker and grammar rating to that, too, given the current state of journalism.

Would people want such a service? Well, Musk's Twitter poll has seen 681,097 votes at the time of writing and 88 per cent agreed, 'yes, this would be good' over, 'no, media are awesome'.

You could argue Musk is employing a diversionary smokescreen. Because let's face it, the Model 3's build quality has been talked about a lot. While various respected UK publications have driven one, including Top Gear and Car Magazine, and all have found it to be a great car albeit with some issues, other press has picked it apart hard.

To be fair, the Model 3 was recently found to have a worse braking distance than a Ford F150 Raptor, which as you probably know is quite a big vehicle. Bigger than a Model 3, anyway.

We should also mention that, like other manufacturers, Musk has prioritised the production of the priciest Model 3s, which is a logical move. Give those who spent the most their cars and use the greater profit margin to ease the speed of the losses ─ no problem there.

What is a bit of a problem is that a huge part of the Model 3's appeal, why many investors have given it such faith and why it can conquer the world is that it was meant to cost US$35,000. But the moment you add the long-range battery with 90 miles more and you are over $40,000.

The Model S is a genuinely decent car to drive

The Model S is a genuinely decent car to drive

Factor in the end of tax credit in the US and suddenly the Model 3 is less BMW 3 Series and more 4 Series. In fact, as opposed to being affordable, the two latest viariants (hello dual motor goodness) cost as much as an M3 although you do get better performance up to a point and no petrol bills.

Elon Musk has sparked a change to electric cars that will make him famous for as long as we have the Internet and the sun doesn't implode and melt us all alive. His other ventures such as more affordable space travel are the icing on his already impressive achievement cake. This is a man who started PayPal just to fund his other ideas.

But belief in whether Tesla itself survives seems to be at an all-time low and that is a shame because Musk is a billionaire genius who seems to want to do good. Or, at least, leave behind a legacy few other humans could ever match.

Whatever it is, it only takes a drive in a Model S to realise he is on to something good. Hell, even Jeremy Clarkson is now a fan of the slightly inferior Model X as the latest series of The Grand Tour revealed.

Musk: Stop taking the bait from the media, reach production targets and stay away from Twitter. We still have faith. Even if every other media outlet now doesn't.