Screenshot / YouTube, Real Time with Bill Maher ; Reuters, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons ; Tesla, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, Cropped by Resist the Mainstream

Elon Musk has accused Reuters of lying. Again.

Almost immediately after the outlet published an exclusive story on Friday about Tesla scrapping low-cost car plans amid fierce Chinese EV competition, Musk weighed in on X to fact-check it. 

He responded to a post from Zero Hedge that stated, “*TESLA SCRAPS LOW-COST CAR PLANS: REUTERS.”

“Reuters is lying (again),” Musk retorted, just 2 or so minutes after the Zero Hedge post and Reuters story went public.

Reuters claimed in the article Zero Hedge was referring to that three sources “familiar with the matter” say Tesla canceled the much-anticipated budget-friendly car that investors had relied on to propel its transformation into a mass-market automaker.

The outlet also said “company messages seen by Reuters” reveal that the automaker plans to persist in developing self-driving robotaxis using the same small-vehicle platform.

Users on X quickly chimed in to blast Reuters for its “lying” in the past.

“This is market manipulation by the media,” wrote one user. Another accused Reuters’ employees of shorting their stock right before the news.

Others asked for more information on the “real story,” while some blasted legacy media outlets as a whole for their “damn anonymous sources.”

Reuters claims in the article that the decision to scrap low-cost car plans signifies a departure from a longstanding objective that Musk has frequently portrayed as Tesla’s core mission: providing affordable electric cars for the masses.

It also dinged Musk for “repeatedly” promising such a vehicle to investors and consumers.

“The stark reversal comes as Tesla faces fierce competition globally from Chinese electric-vehicle makers flooding the market with cars priced as low as $10,000,” the outlet reported. 

“Two sources said they learned of Tesla's decision to scrap the Model 2 in a meeting attended by scores of employees, with one of them saying the gathering happened in late February,” it added at a later part of the story.

Reuters argues that Tesla's delay in pursuing the car Musk once called his dream has significantly complicated matters, as it now contends with considerably more competition in that price bracket.

Chinese automakers have surged ahead in the realm of affordable EVs. Despite Tesla dedicating years to developing its “highly experimental” Cybertruck, a “costly electric pickup.”

A few minutes later on Friday, a different post on X said “Reuters is lying because Reuters is dying,” accompanied with a graphic slowing a decline in website visits.

Musk quoted that post, writing, “Reuters is dying.”