Tesla Driving Logs Contradict NYT Claims

Another sikes. Note my intended lower case for that personal name.

 

great theater. my brother, who has a mercedes sports car and hates all things green, sent me the link to the original article. can't wait to hear the upshot of all this.

 

Wow, a a company associated with Fox News writes a bad report on an electric car? I wouldn't have believed it!

 

Already posted on this old thread
Clueless NYT reporter manages to get stranded in Model S | Page 10 | PriusChat
@ post #187
If you read the comments there, you'll see most PC'rs still feel it doesn't matter that the NY Times tester is dishonest ... that his fake report is still valid.

 

More fuel to the fire!

Make sure you look at these charts from Tesla.

 

I think this is the most damaging aspect of the story because people who shell out $80k+ for the car do not want to hear they have to drive slow and be uncomfortable.

 

Maybe he thought it was mathematically possible, that is insane!

 

OK, I looked. The speedy reporter was going at 52 mph when he said 45 mph, and 60 mph when he said 54 mph.

He hit 81 mph for a moment, but most of the drive was at 65 mph as he reported. Tesla is grasping at straws here, and looking awfully foolish trying to blame the reporter.

 

dont forget that he drove in parking lot in circles!!!
(for 5 minutes, lol).

Tesla is going to do a lot of damage to themselves with this kind of attitude towards reporters.

 

Maybe he found a very small racetrack, this is entertaining!

 

I think the right answer is for Tesla to send their report to the Editor in Chief of the New York Times ... perhaps with a cover letter from their lawyer. There is something called 'libel' and a false report, a knowingly false report, followed up by provable 'damages' ...

Now there is an opinion that any 'news' or 'free media' is a good thing. A Tesla suit against New York Times would work quite nicely. In effect, it holds the New York Times reporter up as a fraud and leads to more press coverage from their competition.

Just a thought,
Bob Wilson

 

That sounds like a horrible idea. Really, sue a reporter for driving on average ~ 65 mph and using cabin heat in the winter ?!

EVs are limited long distance cars, and their consumption/mile is a lot higher in the winter if cabin heating is used. End of story, and Tesla would do well to just educate it's clientele to these facts rather than play the corporate bully.

 

It will just make Tesla seem lawsuit happy. The best thing they can do since the NYT is standing by the story is publish in Forbes or WSJ that will be happy to carry Tesla's side. The NYT will be forced to do an internal investigation and apologize.

Tesla does not need that drama and it would lose the lawsuit. Exageration is not libel.

 

I still remember:

• Jayson Blair
• Janet Cooke

I think we have a new candidate, the NYT reporter.

No one expects to persuade Art Spinola, CNW Marketing, or Consumer Reports or other traditional gear-head reporters that hybrid electrics or electrics are real cars. By the same token, I don't expect to 'convert' our 'right-wing brethen' in Fred's House of Politics to move from fantasies to a fact based reality. However, in this reporter's published lie, Tesla has opportunity.

Remember the Salem Witch Trials needed when one person sued for libel . . . and won. Until then, the accusation of witchcraft was a capital offense. So use what little law exists . . . if the editors of the New York Times can not 'do the right thing.'

The egg has been cracked so make it into an omlett. What does Tesla have to lose?

I can see a Tesla advertisement: "Lied by the New York Times . . . Tesla stands ready today!"

Bob Wilson

 

I agree with AG. Tesla does not have much to gain by prolonging this or suing. They can have a Wayne Gerdes do the same test using cameras, etc.. and publish.

 

Yes, I'm affraid the opposite never happens, which is
"Reporters doing a lot of damage to themselves with this kind of attitude towards manufacturers"

Ethics is a bluff.

 

+1

I agree absolutely. I think the clarkson/Top Gear incident helped Tesla. It didn't hurt them. Some of the statements from Edmunds and Consumer Reports probably should have gotten push backs from the companies. I would say that CR claiming the prius c real world mileage is a bad 43 and there test is better than epa, but the hyundai's that we know cheated on epa were held up as good deserved some scathing replies.

This reporter obviously wanted to write a dramatic story about the car, not a truthful one. Tesla did a poor job explaining it on the TV, but putting out the information on the Blog and articles can only help. I'm sure Broder did not realize that a computer was watching his behavior, and his unethical behavior would be caught.

 

You must be kidding. Was it the driving at 60 mph when he said 54 mph, or driving 52 mph when he said 45 mph that has you defending Tesla ? Or maybe his use of cabin heat ? LOL

The reporter was not 'I am an engineer' accurate, but he was well within the ranges of what an owner might report: the car cannot be used in the winter at anything close to highway speed limits in comfort for long distance drives.

That is an accurate representation, and Tesla should STFU before their hard won good name is flushed.