The car manufacturer Tesla has been given the negative "Closed Oyster" award by the network of researchers, the network of journalists. The reason given by the association on Saturday was "Tesla's non-transparent behavior towards the media and the public". Examples of this are the prevention of reporting through the selective selection of reporters and the non-answering of press inquiries, it said in a statement. The company did not comment on this to the German Press Agency.

"Tesla has been known among reporters for years for actively and aggressively obstructing research and reporting. Elon Musk himself has a history of threatening journalists, regularly spreading false news and manipulating the media for his personal financial interests," said Daniel Drepper, Chairman from network research. And further: "Elon Musk and Tesla apparently have no respect for a critical public discourse. For Musk and Tesla, the press seems to be the enemy. This attitude becomes more relevant the more influential Musk and Tesla become."

At the award ceremony in Hamburg, which was broadcast live, there was no reaction to an invitation from the journalists' association to Tesla to accept the award and to give a speech of thanks or counter-speech.

In March, Tesla opened a factory in Grünheide near Berlin, which has been producing electric cars ever since. Tesla has dissolved its press department in the USA. Company boss Elon Musk is known for posting messages to the public on Twitter. Since 2002, the Recherche network has been awarding the Negative Prize to people and institutions. Previous winners have included ADAC, the Catholic Church, Facebook, Aldi, Fifa, the Bavarian state government and Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin.

Sources: network research