I'm relatively new here (I've lurked for a long time, but registered very recently), so forgive my jumping in on a very "hot" thread. But it seems to me (and I know no one like this kind of response) that there are errors on both sides.
To start with the part you're going to hate me for, I blame Tesla for not properly briefing the driver (especially egregious since it was a major media outlet, but all press -- and all owners -- should be briefed about "how" to drive/take care of an EV). He should have been thoroughly instructed in the proper use of the car in cold weather, told to Range charge, and informed about overnight power loss due to the car keeping the pack warm. Not doing so was inviting the "nightmare scenario" that eventually occurred.
And Mr. Musk's reply is such a huge attempt to discredit the reporter's entire experience - while enjoyable - didn't really help, except to point out some inconsistencies. For example, he would have been a lot better off not attributing motive to the "drive around the parking lot" thing, since if the reporter wanted to kill the car there were much better ways, nitpicking some things (the timing of the the climate control reduction, which did occur slightly after - and, again, if he wanted to kill the car, he could have left the climate control hot and gone really fast the whole time) and basically trying to obfuscate the issues that happened (the 12v battery was dead and clearly was the cause of the parking break lock - the tow truck driver, who was contacted, confirmed that the car couldn't be moved - and so the "pack was never dead" bit is mostly spin) and blame the whole thing on the reporter's "agenda".
Which, at some level, I understand. I'm sure he was incredibly angry that this happened at a major media site, that it was so mishandled internally (it sounds like the this particular press liaison is no longer at Tesla), that he wasn't able to spin the reporter out of the story with a personal phone call and apology for the experience, the reporter didn't drive it the way it was "meant" to be driven (but he wasn't told to do), that misinformation was given (or misunderstood), producing a result that fed directly into the classic EV range anxiety happened-at-Top Gear "dead EV" story.
Now, that may be the story the reporter intended to write before he started. He certainly made a lot of mistakes, but those mistakes were kind of "treat it like a ICE" errors that you can kind of understand, especially if he was misbriefed (and I truly believe he was). They seem stupid to those of us who know something about the vehicle - we're enthusiasts/owners/prospective owners. There's no way we would let this happen to us. It's too "easy" not to make this kind of mistake...which is why we're all so angry about the article. It all seems so...obvious. But, again, why would he have charged at all that last time if he just wanted it to die anyway? And why ask Tesla for advice?
In contrast, take a look at the Verge's recent Tesla video and test drive. Now, they play on the range anxiety thing in the first minute of the video - and they do almost run out of charge (which doesn't seem to be their fault). But, overall, it's clear they've been well briefed, warned against playing sports-car too much, their experience is great, and they give it a thumbs up. And the follow-up articles of people doing the same run the reporter did with positive results show that it's possible.
I really think it would have been better for Tesla to respond by saying that they regretted the experience the reporter had, that the reporter made some simple mistakes, that charging fully would have resolved the problem, and that normal drivers are properly instructed on the use of range charging, plugging in at night, etc...and then, pointing to a series of articles of people doing the same drive, successfully.
Allow the public to understand that this was an exception, not the rule. That's so much better than an out-and-out war/smackdown. And it seems to be closer to the truth.
Anyway, those are my quick-and-dirty-I-have-the-flu-and-can-barely-think thoughts. It certainly doesn't make me nervous about doing the same east coast trip. And I don't think it would seriously make anyone reconsider the viability of the Supercharger network (except, perhaps, that, in really cold weather, it might be better to put them a bit closer together, as Mr. Musk himself suggested).
Thanks for letting me put that out there, and for reading.