Top Gear cleared of libel charges in Tesla lawsuit
10-19-11, 03:54 PM
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Top Gear cleared of libel charges in Tesla lawsuit
News I've been waiting for, for a long time.
I gotta say Europe has some really smart judges that has common sense.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011...?newsfeed=true
I gotta say Europe has some really smart judges that has common sense.
Tesla's lawsuit against Top Gear isn't going well as a British court has ruled the popular television series did not commit libel.
As you may recall, Tesla sued the show because Jeremy Clarkson said the Roadster only managed to travel 55 miles (89 km) on the track. Tesla contested this statement because the car can travel 211 miles (340 km) in normal use. In the end, Justice Tugendhat concluded "... no reasonable person could understand that the performance on the [Top Gear] track is capable of a direct comparison with a public road."
Despite the victory, Top Gear still faces several counts of making false statements including accusations the brakes broke and the electric motor overheated.
As you may recall, Tesla sued the show because Jeremy Clarkson said the Roadster only managed to travel 55 miles (89 km) on the track. Tesla contested this statement because the car can travel 211 miles (340 km) in normal use. In the end, Justice Tugendhat concluded "... no reasonable person could understand that the performance on the [Top Gear] track is capable of a direct comparison with a public road."
Despite the victory, Top Gear still faces several counts of making false statements including accusations the brakes broke and the electric motor overheated.
Last edited by Stormwind; 10-19-11 at 05:41 PM.
10-19-11, 07:49 PM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Tesla sued the show because Jeremy Clarkson said the Roadster only managed to travel 55 miles (89 km) on the track. Tesla contested this statement because the car can travel 211 miles (340 km) in normal use.
Last edited by mmarshall; 10-19-11 at 08:47 PM.
10-20-11, 07:56 AM
#4
Out of Warranty
Tesla was using a 3-phase synchronous AC motor in the roadster, an extremely efficient device that requires some serious control circuitry. Only speculation here, but it may be that the control circuits overheated rather than the motor itself, and dropped offline. That's a common failure mode for AC motors, they disconnect themselves in an effort at self-preservation at extreme temperatures and under unreasonable load. There is no way even a limited-production electric car could be optimized for both "spirited" driving and full-on track performance - the AC controls and their cooling system would be the size of the car to take that kind of punishment. Clarkson, et al. should have known better.
The alternative would be a heavy, shunt-wound DC motor that, on paper at least, produces infinite torque at stall. These were once common in diesel-electric submarines and railroad engines. When I worked for a company that produced oilfield drilling machines, we had a 1200 hp model experience a "meltdown" when the driller, showing off for his CEO, purposely got the bit stuck about a mile down and demonstrated the "power" of the machine in drilling itself out of trouble. He selected "low" gear in the 2-speed transmission and opened the "throttle". Nothing moved, but the torque from the motor (climbing well north of its rated 45,000 ft/lbs) as it growled, shook, and very nearly tore the machine from its guide rails. After about 30 seconds, molten copper began dribbling out of the motor case and splattering on the floor. "Infinite" obviously has its limits.
Our customer did NOT file a warranty claim, but somewhere a couple hundred miles off Halifax, that driller is probably still drifting in a life raft . . . .
The alternative would be a heavy, shunt-wound DC motor that, on paper at least, produces infinite torque at stall. These were once common in diesel-electric submarines and railroad engines. When I worked for a company that produced oilfield drilling machines, we had a 1200 hp model experience a "meltdown" when the driller, showing off for his CEO, purposely got the bit stuck about a mile down and demonstrated the "power" of the machine in drilling itself out of trouble. He selected "low" gear in the 2-speed transmission and opened the "throttle". Nothing moved, but the torque from the motor (climbing well north of its rated 45,000 ft/lbs) as it growled, shook, and very nearly tore the machine from its guide rails. After about 30 seconds, molten copper began dribbling out of the motor case and splattering on the floor. "Infinite" obviously has its limits.
Our customer did NOT file a warranty claim, but somewhere a couple hundred miles off Halifax, that driller is probably still drifting in a life raft . . . .
10-20-11, 08:01 AM
#5
It's good advertising for both companies.
Top Gear proved themselves crazy (once again), and Tesla proved to people that their cars do have the capacity to pull off 200+ mile range with regular driving. 55 miles on a track still ain't bad: that's like 25 laps on most circuits...
Top Gear proved themselves crazy (once again), and Tesla proved to people that their cars do have the capacity to pull off 200+ mile range with regular driving. 55 miles on a track still ain't bad: that's like 25 laps on most circuits...
10-20-11, 07:10 PM
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10-20-11, 08:32 PM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
That wasn't quite what I was referring to....in fact, I'm no lightweight myself, and I sure can't point any fingers there. I was refering to Clarkson's driving. The way he pushes a car, it's no wonder that a pure-electric doesn't get much cruising-range with him (and the other Top Gear members) driving.
Last edited by mmarshall; 10-20-11 at 08:35 PM.
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