Much like the journey that started it all to begin with, it appears the New York Times vs. Tesla feud has gone as far as it could before reaching an unsatisfying end far from either party's ideal destination.
A tweet from Tesla CEO Elon Musk seems to mark the moment of ceasefire, which Musk substantiates in a longer blog post:
The tweet comes on the heels of a Feb. 18 New York Times review, which acknowledges "problems with precision and judgment" in an earlier piece that faulted Tesla's new electric car charging infrastructure on the East Coast.
In this latest evaluation of the initial review, Public Editor Margaret Sullivan concludes the author, John Broder, "left himself open to valid criticism by taking what seem to be casual and imprecise notes." She ultimately concluded:
I do not believe Mr. Broder hoped the drive would end badly. I am convinced that he took on the test drive in good faith, and told the story as he experienced it... Did he use good judgment along the way? Not especially...
And so marks the end of a battle started in early February, when Broder set out to review Tesla's new electric "Supercharging stations," prematurely ran out of juice in his Model S and concluded, "Theory can be trumped by reality, especially when Northeast temperatures plunge."
After the article was published, Tesla's Musk hit back, labeling the review "fake" and questioning Broder's journalistic integrity. To support his argument, Musk released data recorded by Broder's vehicle.
From there, the argument spilled across the Internet, with passionate fans dissecting every component of the journey. Other journalists tried their luck, recreating the ill-fated trip in a Model S without incident.
So what's next for Tesla? Among other things, Musk writes, "We will keep increasing the number of Superchargers."