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I lost respect for WSJ because of their continuous anti-Tesla editorials. I’m not at all a Tesla fanboy, but the WSJ commentary on subsidies are just trashy at

I lost respect for WSJ because of their continuous anti-Tesla editorials. I’m not at all a Tesla fanboy, but the WSJ commentary on subsidies are just trashy attacks that are devoid of any logic or context, given that the help that other industries and automakers have received. For example: https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilwinton/2015/02/16/tesla-should-turn-off-subsidies-wall-street-journal-europe-says/#662a74f45661 https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilwinton/2015/02/16/tesla-sho...

kyrra 8y ago
For those interested in reading more on this Source article: http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-tesla-paradox-1423786534 http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-tesla-paradox-1423786534 Electric car site looking at subsidies across the industry: https://electrek.co/2016/11/25/tesla-subsidies-big-three-oil-industry/amp/ https://electrek.co/2016/11/25/tesla-subsidies-big-three-oil... One complaint I have with both of you both is that neither provides breakdowns by dollar of subsidies per car produced or sold.
forapurpose 8y ago
> WSJ ... editorials Twice I conducted a study: I collected everything on their op-ed page over a week or two and coded them for their political stance. I think there were a couple pro-Democratic/liberal pieces out of over a hundred, and a few criticized the Republicans;[0] all the rest were pro-GOP/conservative or anti-liberal/Dem (plus a few that were apolitical). (And if you think the NY Times is the same, you're wrong: Ross Douthat, Bret Stephens (former WSJ editorial page editor) and David Brooks are all conservatives, and maybe others are too.) I encourage anyone to do the same; I feel I can almost guarantee results ever over a small sample like a day. My conclusion: WSJ op-eds and editorials are partisan mouthpieces for the Republican Party and conservatives. I don't know how Tesla fits into that, but that's their motive. Denying climate change and demonizing any attempt at a solution? Supporting big oil? Musk pulling away from Trump? Others might have a better guess than I do. [0] Criticizing Republicans is not necessarily pro-Democratic. For example, an editorial could criticize the Republicans for not cutting taxes enough.
- secfirstmd 8y ago
  It's owned by Rupert Murdoch, that shouldn't be a surprise.
  - perl4ever 8y ago
    From what I recall, the editorial page was much the same before the Murdoch era. However, the rest of the paper was a fairly stark contrast, and I didn't have the general impression that they slanted the actual news. After Murdoch bought it I lost faith in their reporting, but I never held the editorials against them too much prior to that. The opinion section seemed like a quarantine for the right wing types. Back in Apple's pre-Steve Jobs era, though, I did get the impression that the news stories were consistently bashing Apple in a way that made it seem like they had some ulterior motivation. Apple would always be described as "troubled" or "beleagured" like a mantra. And it's passed into mythology that Apple was near bankruptcy when in fact they hoarded cash and abhorred debt. So I'm not really sure if any anti-Tesla agenda is really coming from Murdoch.
    - forapurpose 8y ago
      > I didn't have the general impression that they slanted the actual news. After Murdoch bought it I lost faith in their reporting There is (or was) a lot of internal conflict over what the reporters feel is favorable coverage of Trump. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=wall+street+journal+trump+coverage+editor+tells+staff&t=hg&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?q=wall+street+journal+trump+coverage...

kyrra 8y ago

For those interested in reading more on this Source article: http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-tesla-paradox-1423786534 http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-tesla-paradox-1423786534 Electric car site looking at subsidies across the industry: https://electrek.co/2016/11/25/tesla-subsidies-big-three-oil-industry/amp/ https://electrek.co/2016/11/25/tesla-subsidies-big-three-oil... One complaint I have with both of you both is that neither provides breakdowns by dollar of subsidies per car produced or sold.

forapurpose 8y ago

> WSJ ... editorials Twice I conducted a study: I collected everything on their op-ed page over a week or two and coded them for their political stance. I think there were a couple pro-Democratic/liberal pieces out of over a hundred, and a few criticized the Republicans;[0] all the rest were pro-GOP/conservative or anti-liberal/Dem (plus a few that were apolitical). (And if you think the NY Times is the same, you're wrong: Ross Douthat, Bret Stephens (former WSJ editorial page editor) and David Brooks are all conservatives, and maybe others are too.) I encourage anyone to do the same; I feel I can almost guarantee results ever over a small sample like a day. My conclusion: WSJ op-eds and editorials are partisan mouthpieces for the Republican Party and conservatives. I don't know how Tesla fits into that, but that's their motive. Denying climate change and demonizing any attempt at a solution? Supporting big oil? Musk pulling away from Trump? Others might have a better guess than I do. [0] Criticizing Republicans is not necessarily pro-Democratic. For example, an editorial could criticize the Republicans for not cutting taxes enough.

secfirstmd 8y ago
It's owned by Rupert Murdoch, that shouldn't be a surprise.
- perl4ever 8y ago
  From what I recall, the editorial page was much the same before the Murdoch era. However, the rest of the paper was a fairly stark contrast, and I didn't have the general impression that they slanted the actual news. After Murdoch bought it I lost faith in their reporting, but I never held the editorials against them too much prior to that. The opinion section seemed like a quarantine for the right wing types. Back in Apple's pre-Steve Jobs era, though, I did get the impression that the news stories were consistently bashing Apple in a way that made it seem like they had some ulterior motivation. Apple would always be described as "troubled" or "beleagured" like a mantra. And it's passed into mythology that Apple was near bankruptcy when in fact they hoarded cash and abhorred debt. So I'm not really sure if any anti-Tesla agenda is really coming from Murdoch.
  - forapurpose 8y ago
    > I didn't have the general impression that they slanted the actual news. After Murdoch bought it I lost faith in their reporting There is (or was) a lot of internal conflict over what the reporters feel is favorable coverage of Trump. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=wall+street+journal+trump+coverage+editor+tells+staff&t=hg&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?q=wall+street+journal+trump+coverage...