[loup-vaillant]

That's hardly a spin.

Musk: "Victory! The NYT admits Broder got his facts wrong!"

Devil's advocate "Defeat! The NYT still stays Broder was honest!"

No contradiction here, just plausible deniability. Broder made honest mistakes that lead him to get his facts wrong (well). Tesla motors is happy to come out clean, and its cherry picking is just making clear they won't press the issue.

[pmr_]

I have a problem with honesty as the redeeming quality problem of the article. Honesty is certainly one of the most important traits of a journalist, so is understanding bias and preventing bias as much as possible. Broder was honest in representing his trip but apparently (sloppy notes, see NYT article) didn't do due diligence when it comes to questioning his own perception and recounting of the events.