> The suggestion that the motivation for this article is profit for the NYT or Moxie is quite destructive.

No, that's literally how it works. Media need to sell copy (clicks these days) and companies need to get coverage. And that's perfectly OK if companies are acting ethically and journalists and editors are doing due diligence.

The person that you mention has good connections in the media and uses them to self-promote and promote the tat he sells.