I think articles like these, being suggestive without doing proper research, is why Sonstebo reacted in the way he did.

• the news about partnerships was created by the media, not by the IOTA foundation. Here is the actual news from IOTA: https://blog.iota.org/iota-data-marketplace-cb6be463ac7f. IOTA Foundation never announced this being a partnership. CNBC just hyped it up and the rest of the media took over the news.
• IOTA is still in very early-stage beta. The network may not always be stable. That doesn't mean it's dead, just because one guy tweets it.
• there is enough proof that IOTA is real and not a scam. Many universities and large companies are setting up R&D projects to test IOTA technology (like this: https://www.elaad.nl/news/how-elaadnl-built-a-poc-charge-station-running-fully-on-iota-and-iota-only/)
• Sonstebo is a developer, not a communication specialist. Yes, his style is not really the best, he is defensive. He probably should get media training but I think his time is probably best spend working on the technology. As IOTA grows, the IOTA Foundation will probably take over communication from Sonstebo.

Another good read on what happened to IOTA in the media is this article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mind-in-the-machine/201712/how-fear-is-being-used-manipulate-cryptocurrency-markets