Posted on 09/30/2017 12:14:08 PM PDT by george76
Imagine the following scenario: Your humble author buys an Accord Coupe, and loves it, and suggests that you do the same. Not so hard to imagine, insofar as that’s what actually happened.
Now let’s imagine I tell you that you, the TTAC reader, can get a discount on an Accord if you use my referral code. That’s kind of odd, right? After all, I’m here to report on the Accord, not to incentivize your purchase. Last but not least, let’s imagine that for every four Accords sold with my referral code, Honda gives me $6,200 worth of Honda products. A new CBR500, maybe, or an ATV for my son. And let’s say that there’s actually more to it than that — in fact, for every four Accords I sell, I can receive up to eleven thousand dollars’ worth of goodies.
Last but not least, let’s imagine that I hold a significant amount of Honda stock and that my posts are written with the knowledge that positive Honda stories might help that stock move in a direction that is profitable for me.
Sounds crazy, right? Welcome to the world of Fred Lambert and his site, electrek.co.
...
The breathless, fawning content written by Electrek regarding Tesla is regularly picked up by other outlets. Which helps boost Tesla’s stock price, making them money. And the links lead to referrals, which put highly valuable freebies in the hands of Fred and his editorial staff. It’s a pyramid of cash that just keeps growing.
Should you care? Only if you are interested in an electric car and want to know the truth about the products... Do you think that Electrek will report fairly and honestly on Tesla’s problems when they are holding the stock?
(Excerpt) Read more at thetruthaboutcars.com ...
What’s an autojourno? Do they mean autogyro ?
It’s called kickback.
Really, this is the part you question.
LOL!
This is not just a new problem.
Yellow journalism has always been around passing itself off as objective and unbiased. Why do we not see critical stories of major companies that spend a lot of advertising dollars in newspapers.
This is why.
I would short this stock as it tumbles.
I just leased a Lexus RX350 hybrid F-sport. The car of course doesn’t have the zip as Tesla, but it’s a really polished car that is quiet. It’s the best Lexus I’ve had in the 25 or so years I’ve driven them.
wHAT’S MY POINT?
I am sure, quite sure, that Lexus, and probably the other big three will be making electric cars cheaper and better than Tesla. But I do believe the next car I drive in three years will be electric.
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