Personally, I think Tesla and Musk should shut up. This bantering back at the media might have been “new” and “cool” with other topics, but not when it involves somebody’s death. While it’s fine to respond to inaccurate facts, the catchy headlines (“Misfortune”, “A Tragic Loss”) and the condescending and confrontational tone is totally out of place. Stick to the facts. Talk about how you take this very seriously, are going to look more into it, but do believe the autopilot is safe.
After a decade in the military, where bad things happen frequently, I couldn’t imagine public relations acting in this manner: "We bombed the wrong house, but this happens, it's war, the media just doesn't understand". Don’t give people the impression you care more about your business than their lives. Don’t dismiss someone’s death as a statistic.
I want Tesla to succeed, but they are starting to leave a bad taste in my mouth. I remember my XO saying, “never get into a shouting match with an idiot, bystanders can’t tell the difference.” Ignore the media if you can’t respond appropriately. The real misfortune here is that somebody died in what was probably a preventable accident, not a poorly sourced Fortune article.