ABC News appears to have learned the hard way that there is a very important difference between a Tesla crashing and a driver crashing a Tesla.
The network initially framed a fatal September 9 crash in Midtown Manhattan with the headline, “Tesla crashes into scaffolding in Midtown Manhattan, killing passenger.”
There was just one rather significant problem with that framing. Many believed the headline referred to a glitch in Tesla’s Full Self Driving system, but police subsequently arrested the driver on charges including vehicular manslaughter and impaired driving.
ABC News then changed its headline to something considerably more accurate: “Driver crashes Tesla into scaffolding in midtown Manhattan, killing passenger: Police.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk noticed the coverage, and he wasn’t shy about calling it out.
ABC News Initially Put Tesla at the Center of the Crash
The original ABC News report stated that a gray 2024 Tesla Model Y crashed in Midtown Manhattan at approximately 2:43 a.m. on September 9.
The original headline read:
“Tesla crashes into scaffolding in Midtown Manhattan, killing passenger”
According to police, the vehicle was traveling eastbound on East 42nd Street when the driver failed to navigate the roadway. The Model Y struck scaffolding, a bus stop, and a mailbox.
A Tesla vehicle – YouTube, Mark Rober
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A 27-year-old passenger, later identified as Elise Suomi of Harlem, died following the crash.
ABC’s original story acknowledged that the Tesla was being driven by a 27-year-old woman and even reported that police said the driver “failed to navigate the roadway.”
Nevertheless, the headline made the Tesla itself the subject performing the action. ABC also reported at the time that the cause of the driver losing control was unknown.
That would change dramatically.
The Driver Was Arrested
ABC News subsequently updated its reporting after authorities arrested 27-year-old Alejandra Paharsingh.
According to the updated ABC News report, Paharsingh was arrested on charges of vehicular manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, and driving while impaired.
ABC’s New York affiliate WABC reported that the Tesla initially struck scaffolding outside 315 Madison Avenue before continuing east along East 42nd Street, striking a mailbox and an MTA bus stop pole, and eventually stopping around Second Avenue.
2024 Tesla Cybertruk; Courtesy Wikipedia
Witness Greg Huff told WABC that he saw the Tesla accelerate at a high rate of speed before striking the scaffolding. Huff also described behavior from the driver that he considered abnormal before the crash.
The New York Post subsequently reported that prosecutors said Paharsingh’s blood alcohol level was 0.229 — nearly three times New York’s legal limit of 0.08.
In other words, this was no longer simply a mysterious situation involving a Tesla inexplicably crashing into scaffolding.
Authorities were alleging serious criminal conduct by the person behind the wheel.
ABC Quietly Changes Its Headline
Suddenly ABC’s headline looked very different.
The updated version now reads: “Driver crashes Tesla into scaffolding in midtown Manhattan, killing passenger: Police”
That is a substantially different framing from “Tesla crashes into scaffolding.”
ABC’s updated article carries an editor’s note stating simply, “This story has been updated.”
David Muir and Linsey Davis via ABC News YouTube
However, the original version remains indexed with ABC’s initial headline, providing a clear record of how the story was initially presented.
If someone driving a Ford while allegedly impaired crashed into a building, would the natural headline be “Ford crashes into building”? If someone allegedly intoxicated behind the wheel of a Toyota struck a bus stop, would Toyota become the central subject of the story?
Yet when the vehicle involved is a Tesla, the brand frequently becomes part of the headline. That’s exactly the sort of framing Musk has been complaining about for years.
Elon Musk Unloads on ABC News
Musk responded to the coverage by making clear that he believed the media was wrongly directing attention toward Tesla rather than the driver.
The legacy media will never forgive Tesla for failing to advertise with them
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 9, 2026
Musk wrote on X: “It wasn’t the car.”
He then pushed back against suggestions surrounding Tesla’s driver-assistance technology, writing: “If Autopilot had been engaged, they would not have crashed.”
There’s currently no public statement from police attributing this crash to Tesla’s Autopilot or Full Self-Driving systems. The publicly announced charges instead concern the conduct of the driver.
Musk then went considerably further, accusing traditional media outlets of having a financial incentive to treat Tesla differently.
Elon Musk via New York Times Events YouTube
“The legacy media will never forgive Tesla for failing to advertise with them,” he said.
That’s an explosive accusation, but this particular episode isn’t exactly helping ABC’s case.
ABC’s Own Update Undercuts Its Original Framing
ABC’s original article did not explicitly claim that Autopilot or Full Self-Driving caused the crash.
The problem is the framing.
“Tesla crashes into scaffolding” and “Driver crashes Tesla into scaffolding” communicate two very different things to a reader scanning headlines.
One places the vehicle at the center of the action while the other places the human being operating it there.
A Tesla enters the Vegas loop underground tunnel – YouTube, CNET
And after police arrested that human being on charges of vehicular manslaughter and impaired driving, ABC changed its headline. ABC’s own reporting now states that Paharsingh was driving the Tesla, failed to navigate the roadway, and was subsequently arrested.
There has been no publicly established vehicle malfunction that explains the crash, no publicly established Autopilot failure, and no publicly established Full Self-Driving glitch.
There has, however, been an arrest for allegedly impaired driving.
That makes ABC’s original decision to lead with “Tesla crashes” look even worse in hindsight.
Musk’s Larger Media Complaint
Musk’s advertising accusation also raises a larger question about the way Tesla is covered.
Tesla famously built its automotive business without relying on the traditional advertising model used by major automakers for much of its history, although the company has experimented with advertising more recently.
Musk has repeatedly argued that this creates a hostile incentive structure among media companies that receive advertising money from Tesla’s competitors.
Whether that explains ABC’s decision in this particular case can’t be established from the outside. But the editorial decision itself is right there in black and white.
Elon Musk on Everyday Astronaut on X
The tragedy here is that a 27-year-old woman lost her life. That deserves serious and responsible reporting.
It also deserves accurate attribution.
A Tesla did not get arrested, nor was a Tesla charged with vehicular manslaughter and impaired driving.
The driver was.
ABC News eventually rewrote its headline to reflect that distinction. Elon Musk simply made sure everyone noticed.
How do you feel about ABC News and its initial Tesla headline? Sound off and let us know!
