[marvin]

They're addressing the issue of public perception. Electric vehicles are new, untried and untrusted. This means that there are two arenas where it is in Tesla's interest to have strong public support: Consumers, who do not want to buy cars which are rumored to be unreliable, and investors who don't want to extend credit to a company which is likely to have customers turn their back on it.

Tesla has experienced multiple smear campaigns from different angles and motivations over its short history: Top Gear presenting the Roadster in an unfavorable and inorrect light, the New York Times lying about the car's performance in winter conditions, multiple news outlets overstating the fire risk of their li-ion battery packs. The fear of the public getting an incorrect picture of its reliability and safety record is very much grounded in reality.