my first thought was that a company infamous for cutting corners on quality, run by an internet troll infamous for trying to avoid responsibility for his action

my first thought was that a company infamous for cutting corners on quality, run by an internet troll infamous for trying to avoid responsibility for his actions, violating regulations, and shunning safety, both decided to do what they were infamous for something like that seems way more likely than the sort of coverup you're suggesting, especially since elmu, not Cracked_Tesla, is the one here who is infamous for coverups