I don't think that it's unreasonable to worry about that sort of news-manipulation (after all, all these negative articles are accusing Musk of doing that very thing...).

However, I tend to believe these negative articles; mainly because they tend to be from individuals knowledgeable in a particular field, while the vast majority of positive articles are fluffy and poorly researched, created by journalists who likely don't understand the nuances of the specific industries in which Tesla is claiming to be innovating.