Tesla suing Top Gear over bad reviews
03-30-11 | 10:42 AM
#1
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Racer
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,935
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From: CA
Tesla suing Top Gear over bad reviews
So if you are a up and coming car company that makes a vehicle with questionable reliablity and your flaws got exposed by THE top car show in the world, what would you do?
Do what every company that eventually goes out of business does of course.
Here is the Top Gear review on the Tesla.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DfHyGD7_pM
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=21258
Do what every company that eventually goes out of business does of course.
Here is the Top Gear review on the Tesla.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DfHyGD7_pM
Tesla isn't laughing when it comes to Jeremy Clarkson's antics
Top Gear is pretty much the biggest automotive show on the planet. It's car **** for car nuts and any enthusiast worth his/her salt watches every episode of the show by any means necessary. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, are known to take a few liberties when reviewing cars on the BBC program -- especially Clarkson -- but the antics of the show with regards to the Tesla Roadster are landing them in some legal hot water [PDF].
Jeremy Clarkson tested the Roadster along the show's famous "track" and made a number of false or misleading claims about the vehicle's capabilities. You can view the [admittedly low quality] Top Gear segment here for yourself.
Tesla lays out the following portions of the review that were misrepresented by Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear:
The Roadster ran out of charge and had to be pushed into the Top Gear hangar by 4 men.
The Roadster’s true range is only 55 miles per charge (not 211).
One Roadster’s motor overheated and was completely immobilized as a result.
The other Roadster’s brakes were broken, rendering the car undriveable.
That neither of the two Roadsters provided to Top Gear was available for test driving due to these problems.
Most enthusiasts who watch Top Gear know not to take everything that the show portrays as gospel, but Tesla isn't taking any chances with this lawsuit -- even if it comes two years after the original episode first aired...
The BBC has responded to Tesla Motors' lawsuit, stating that it will "vigorously defend" Top Gear's claims.
Top Gear is pretty much the biggest automotive show on the planet. It's car **** for car nuts and any enthusiast worth his/her salt watches every episode of the show by any means necessary. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, are known to take a few liberties when reviewing cars on the BBC program -- especially Clarkson -- but the antics of the show with regards to the Tesla Roadster are landing them in some legal hot water [PDF].
Jeremy Clarkson tested the Roadster along the show's famous "track" and made a number of false or misleading claims about the vehicle's capabilities. You can view the [admittedly low quality] Top Gear segment here for yourself.
Tesla lays out the following portions of the review that were misrepresented by Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear:
The Roadster ran out of charge and had to be pushed into the Top Gear hangar by 4 men.
The Roadster’s true range is only 55 miles per charge (not 211).
One Roadster’s motor overheated and was completely immobilized as a result.
The other Roadster’s brakes were broken, rendering the car undriveable.
That neither of the two Roadsters provided to Top Gear was available for test driving due to these problems.
Most enthusiasts who watch Top Gear know not to take everything that the show portrays as gospel, but Tesla isn't taking any chances with this lawsuit -- even if it comes two years after the original episode first aired...
The BBC has responded to Tesla Motors' lawsuit, stating that it will "vigorously defend" Top Gear's claims.
03-30-11 | 10:54 AM
#2
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,512
Likes: 4
From: MI
LOL where does Tesla expect to get with this?? Top Gear, like any critic, reviewed the car and gave their own opinion based on their own experience. Hell, I may as well sue my professor because I got a bad grade on my paper...I mean it was your work reviewed by someone else and they gave back their honest input. It's not like Top Gear deliberately sabotaged the car to make it perform poorly. Tesla should be spending all this time (and money) improving their product instead of getting too emotional over a bad review...
03-30-11 | 11:22 AM
#5
Pole Position
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 2,667
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From: IL
03-30-11 | 11:33 AM
#6
while many have viewed tesla's progress and products as approaching something epic that will save the planet 
and their claimed 'do it all sexy 7 seat sedan' still vaporware (shipping supposedly next year), i have always thought they'd go out of business, despite backing i believe, from google.
suing top gear is just plain stupid, and a desperate attempt to get press, while wasting investors money.
and their claimed 'do it all sexy 7 seat sedan' still vaporware (shipping supposedly next year), i have always thought they'd go out of business, despite backing i believe, from google.suing top gear is just plain stupid, and a desperate attempt to get press, while wasting investors money.
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03-30-11 | 12:27 PM
#8
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,791
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From: VA
While I also watch the show just for the entertainment value, and I get that they are to-the-extreme biased towards sports cars...especially British-made ones...I do think that the Tesla folks have a point.
It's not that Clarkson said he didn't like the car. He didn't say it was "ugly".
He said the car constantly breaks down, it'll leave you stranded, and the actual range is 1/4 what the manufacturer claims.
These aren't a journalist's opinion. He's stating facts.
And, if you publiclly state incorrect or misleading facts about someone or a company's product...and those statements cause harm, you can be sued for libel.
It's not that Clarkson said he didn't like the car. He didn't say it was "ugly".
He said the car constantly breaks down, it'll leave you stranded, and the actual range is 1/4 what the manufacturer claims.
These aren't a journalist's opinion. He's stating facts.
And, if you publiclly state incorrect or misleading facts about someone or a company's product...and those statements cause harm, you can be sued for libel.
03-30-11 | 12:31 PM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 22,608
Likes: 102
From: Waiting for next track day
Tesla is a dying company. There is a guy in my neighborhood who has a bright orange one. I see it all of the time because we go the same way to work and leave at the same time. Why the hell anyone would pay 90K for an electric car that has MAJOR teething problems is a moron in my opinion. I am pretty sure the legal team at the BBC is not worried about it
03-30-11 | 12:44 PM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 91,607
Likes: 89
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
I myself am not taking sides on this issue, First, because I have neither reviewed or driven a Tesla and have little or no basis for comment on the vehicle itself, and, Second, because I'm not that big a fan of Clarkson's antics and his style of speaking/writing.
But, given the actual words of the article above, it sounds to me like the author (those, of course, are his words, not mine) is generally agreeing with the lawsuit:
But, given the actual words of the article above, it sounds to me like the author (those, of course, are his words, not mine) is generally agreeing with the lawsuit:
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, are known to take a few liberties when reviewing cars on the BBC program -- especially Clarkson -- but the antics of the show with regards to the Tesla Roadster are landing them in some legal hot water.
Jeremy Clarkson tested the Roadster along the show's famous "track" and made a number of false or misleading claims about the vehicle's capabilities. You can view the [admittedly low quality] Top Gear segment here for yourself.
Tesla lays out the following portions of the review that were misrepresented by Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear:
The Roadster ran out of charge and had to be pushed into the Top Gear hangar by 4 men.
The Roadster’s true range is only 55 miles per charge (not 211).
One Roadster’s motor overheated and was completely immobilized as a result.
The other Roadster’s brakes were broken, rendering the car undriveable.
That neither of the two Roadsters provided to Top Gear was available for test driving due to these problems.
Jeremy Clarkson tested the Roadster along the show's famous "track" and made a number of false or misleading claims about the vehicle's capabilities. You can view the [admittedly low quality] Top Gear segment here for yourself.
Tesla lays out the following portions of the review that were misrepresented by Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear:
The Roadster ran out of charge and had to be pushed into the Top Gear hangar by 4 men.
The Roadster’s true range is only 55 miles per charge (not 211).
One Roadster’s motor overheated and was completely immobilized as a result.
The other Roadster’s brakes were broken, rendering the car undriveable.
That neither of the two Roadsters provided to Top Gear was available for test driving due to these problems.
Last edited by mmarshall; 03-30-11 at 12:57 PM.
03-30-11 | 12:54 PM
#11
Pole Position
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,800
Likes: 7
From: UK
While I also watch the show just for the entertainment value, and I get that they are to-the-extreme biased towards sports cars...especially British-made ones...I do think that the Tesla folks have a point.
It's not that Clarkson said he didn't like the car. He didn't say it was "ugly".
He said the car constantly breaks down, it'll leave you stranded, and the actual range is 1/4 what the manufacturer claims.
It's not that Clarkson said he didn't like the car. He didn't say it was "ugly".
He said the car constantly breaks down, it'll leave you stranded, and the actual range is 1/4 what the manufacturer claims.
03-30-11 | 01:53 PM
#14
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 8,764
Likes: 1
From: Treasury
Tesla is a dying company. There is a guy in my neighborhood who has a bright orange one. I see it all of the time because we go the same way to work and leave at the same time. Why the hell anyone would pay 90K for an electric car that has MAJOR teething problems is a moron in my opinion. I am pretty sure the legal team at the BBC is not worried about it
03-30-11 | 02:06 PM
#15
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 22,608
Likes: 102
From: Waiting for next track day
In the world of super cars reliability can be a bit shaky considering how high strung these cars are. This is why cars like the LFA will make a splash like it has. Imagine Ferrari performance with Lexus reliability and service