IMO its a different tone. The first says "no. well... maybe..." [I don't want to undercut the value of the property] whereas the other says "yes. well... maybe..." [I don't want to appear unappreciative of the resources of the company that owns mine].
Fair! :) I see how you read it that way; to me perhaps is corporate speak for a noncommittal yes, and eventually is a way of making it even less committal by specifying a long timeline. I mean, anything could happen eventually, it just depends on when you mean.
NYT "journalists" do not care if the drivel they produce even makes sense, they only care to impart a tone.
In this instance, they desired to use this as a setup for a confrontational dynamic between Zuckerberg and the original founders, even though they essentially are saying the same thing.