As Elon Musk’s clout continues to grow, AP reporters are examining how his political influence may generate even greater wealth for him and Tesla, his electric-vehicle company.
The task is particularly challenging in an environment where many are hesitant to speak out against the world’s richest man. But AP’s Dake Kang, Elsie Chen, Erika Kinetz, Kimberly Kindy, and Brian Slodysko combined deep investigative work to reveal how Musk could soon reap benefits—if he hasn’t already—around the world.
In China, Kang, Chen, and Kinetz began by investigating a successful defamation suit Tesla filed against a media company. From there, they uncovered that Tesla has filed more than a dozen defamation lawsuits against bloggers, media companies, and even its own customers—including those injured in crashes. Despite Musk’s self-proclaimed identity as a “free speech absolutist,” Tesla has won nearly all of these cases.
Chen interviewed a Tesla owner who was sued by the company after alleging her Model 3’s brakes failed just before a crash. Chen and Kinetz also spoke to industry experts in China, who provided context about Tesla’s aggressive legal strategy and how Musk has leveraged relationships with top Chinese officials to quash criticism of his $1.2 trillion company.
In the United States, Kindy and Slodysko conducted a deep dive into how Tesla is positioned to benefit from Musk’s ties to President Donald Trump. Rather than focusing on long-term regulatory changes, they interviewed safety experts, government watchdogs, and attorneys representing Tesla crash victims to highlight the immediate ways Musk and the Trump administration could suppress investigations and roll back safety programs.
Judges were impressed not only by the widespread impact of the reporting but also by its depth. The team secured candid, on-the-record interviews about Musk even after many sources expressed fears of retaliation.
For shining a light on the man who is perhaps the world’s most powerful unelected figure, Elsie Chen, Erika Kinetz, Kimberly Kindy, Brian Slodysko, and Dake Kang win this week’s Best of AP — Second Winner.
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