The reason people think this is bad form is it indicates the site operators did something they did not need to do. It is an artifact of carelessness at best or misunderstanding of how their web server software works at worst. You do not need to serve a .gitignore file for a site to perform its basic function. But the obverse is also true. Serving .gitignore does not detract from the function of the site.

But among people who do this kind of thing for a living, there's a belief that every action you take (like copy a .gitignore file to the directory from which static files are served) should have an intent which can be traced to a specific requirement.

It's crazy to believe some product manager sat down and put "serve up a .gitignore file" in their PRD. Some people are therefore taking the existence of the .gitignore file in Tesla's public webspace to demonstrate a lack of care when it comes to matching requirements with behaviour.

But as people have pointed out, maybe this isn't a Tesla failing as much as it is a failing for one of their providers. And sure, on the list of failures, this is pretty minor. And if you can find a web host that ties behaviour to explicit requirements, I would LOVE to hear about it. Web hosting is a low margin business which doesn't pay premiums for detail oriented staff. To be sure, there are some AMAZING people working for web hosting outfits, but my point is they are working at web hosting firms in spite of their technical capabilities, not because of them.

To say Tesla is a crap-fest because they left a .gitignore in their public web-space is laughable. Tesla is a crap-fest because their stock is in the toilet, they often blow past promised delivery dates (cybertruck, anyone?) and are extracting cash from the rubes who believe "full self driving" means your car will drive itself in more than the most contrived of contexts.

Elon Musk is not an idiot because you can read a .gitignore from tesla.com. Having done business w/ Mr. Musk, I can assure you he is not an idiot. But he's also did not impress me as the super-genius many seem to make him out to be. He is not playing 4D chess. He's a reasonably intelligent guy who won the lottery (rich parents, older brother who cut him in for a percentage, met the right people just as the USG wanted to buy more launch capability and state and federal governments subsidizing electric cars.) If anything, he's uncanny in his ability to identify opportunity. Maybe that's even better than the Sili Valley execs whose skills extend to being white, pretty and GSB educated. (If you downvote me, please downvote me for the slight on the Haas School this last comment was intended to be.)

To recap... serving a .gitignore in your public web-space doesn't mean you're a dolt. It also means you're probably taking less care than you could. But maybe we don't need to take such care on a static web-site. But it does make me wistful for the days when competence was more obviously exhibited.

Elon Musk is considered a jerk because of his behaviour, not because someone in one of his companies left tesla.com/.gitignore in the public web-space. Tesla is not god's gift to American industry. It is a bit of a goose up the backside of entrenched incumbents, and for that I will always have a soft spot for it. Except for the bits where they seem to be a lightning rod for controversy which always seem to be unforced errors.

Good Day To You, Sir!