I might be cynical, but the thread seems to come from a place of naivety more than anything. The author was getting preferential access because their reporting

I might be cynical, but the thread seems to come from a place of naivety more than anything. The author was getting preferential access because their reporting was positive for the company. When he decided to become a "real" journalist that caused Tesla to cut ties with him because they won't give all-access to someone who might be out to air their dirty laundry. Look at interviews with any big companies CEO, the journalist doing them are given a very narrow field to play with, that's the price to pay to get preferential treatment. The title is cherry on top because it sounds like the author paints himself as a victim by using a word "grooming", that is commonly associated with sexual predation on minors.