Tesla’s Dispute With U.S. Safety Board Isn’t a Good Look

What if Uber acted more like Tesla? Executives at Uber Technologies Inc. have long been jealous of Elon Musk’s resilient public image.

Compare Uber’s careful response to its self-driving car fatality with Tesla Inc.’s flurry of defensive statements. Both companies have received intense media and regulatory scrutiny, but Tesla seems to think it’s impervious—an approach the company’s supporters often celebrate. While Uber shut down its self-driving program, Tesla’s semi-autonomous feature, Autopilot, is still deployed, and the automaker is publicly defying a government safety board.