The Tesla and Top Gear Silliness Continues

by Mike -

Tesla responds to BBC's Top Gear response to the Tesla lawsuit here. Confused? Me too, but in my opinion two companies should not be discussing their legal battle in a public forum. Who is giving legal advice to Tesla and BBC? This is just Goofy.

I repeat my advice to Tesla: instead of a lawsuit arrange for Top Gear to do another test on the latest Tesla Roadster. Now that the lawsuit has been filed then start negotiating a settlement where the outcome is this re-test of the Tesla Roadster to be broadcast on Top Gear. I predict a very high probability that Jeremy Clarkson will be in a good mood for this episode.

Tesla should realize that Top Gear is primarily an entertainment show and sometimes they test new cars.

BBC should realize that it is generally not a good idea to discuss a pending lawsuit in a public forum, this advice also applies to Tesla. Do both Tesla and the BBC believe that there is no such thing as bad publicity? Both are behaving as if they do believe this old wives tale, perpetuated by publicity firms and maybe some lawyers too.

The Top Gear video review of the Tesla Roadster in question is below. See how the publicity continues? All because Tesla filed a lawsuit.

My previous articles on this subject are here and here. My own test ride in the Tesla Roadster in 2005 is here.

The BBCs Top Gear Executive Producer Blogs About The Tesla Lawsuit

by Mike - 

As previously reported Tesla served the BBC's Top Gear with a lawsuit recently for libel and malicious falsehood about an episode of Top Gear in 2008 where the test results for the Tesla Roadster did not please the Tesla management.

Article first published as The BBCs Top Gear Executive Producer Blogs About The Tesla Lawsuit on Technorati.

Andy Wilman is the Executive Producer of Top Gear writes in the Top Gear blog.

He is claiming that Tesla is using the legal action as a publicity stunt to promote their cars and that the BBC received an email from the Tesla public relations firm by accident that proves his point. 

He also goes on the make the following points:

1. We never said that the Tesla’s true range is only 55 miles, our actual words were: “We calculated that on our track it would run out after 55 miles”. Wilman then claims that the 55 mile number actually came from Tesla employees in California based on driving the car hard on the Top Gear test track.

2. We never said that the Tesla was completely immobilized as a result of the motor overheating. We said the car had “reduced power”. This was true.

3. Tesla claims we were lying when we said the brakes were “broken”. They now say that all that had happened was that the fuse to the vacuum pump had failed, which meant that the brake just had to be pushed down much harder than usual. Well – if this happened to your car, you’d take it to the garage to get it fixed. 

It’s alleged by Tesla that on the day of filming one of their employees caught sight of a script that had been written, before the car had even been driven, already containing the verdict that in the “real world” the Tesla doesn’t work. 

In response Wilman says:

a) The truth is, Top Gear had already driven the car prior to filming, to enable us to form an opinion on it in advance.

b) Our conclusion was based mainly on the fact that the Tesla costs three times more than the sports car upon which it’s based. It takes a long time to recharge, so you can’t use it as easily as a gasoline powered car. 

c) Wilman then goes into details about how a TV program is filmed and the necessity to have a plan in advance.

It seems to me that it is probably not a good idea to talk publicly about legal actions that are in progress for either Tesla or the BBC’s Top Gear.

Tesla Takes Legal Action Against Top Gear

by Mike - 

Tesla served the BBC's Top Gear with a lawsuit yesterday for libel and malicious falsehood. Tesla claims “it is the only recourse we have; our repeated attempts to contact the BBC, over the course of months, were ignored.”

This article was first published as Tesla Motors Files a Lawsuit Against BBCs Top Gear TV Show on Technorati.
The quote below is from Ricardo Reyes, Vice President of Communications for Tesla.

“About two years ago, Top Gear ran a segment containing false and exaggerated criticisms of the Roadster. In the episode, two Roadsters are depicted as suffering several critical "breakdowns" during track driving. The show’s script, written before the cars were tested, has host Jeremy Clarkson concluding the segment by saying, "in the real world, it doesn’t seem to work."”

Clarkson also concluded that the Tesla range was only 55 miles and not the 200 miles claimed by Tesla. Tesla contends that this episode is repeated on TV and hundreds of millions of viewers watch these “lies” around the world on a regular basis.

A spokesperson for Top Gear said. "We can confirm that we have received notification that Tesla have issued proceedings against the BBC. The BBC stands by the program and will be vigorously defending this claim."

Here are some questions that come to my mind:

* Why has Tesla waited more than two years after this episode first aired to take this legal action?

* Is Tesla feeling the pressure? Are they not selling enough cars?

* What would be the motivation of Top Gear to lie and make false claims about a car? This could damage their credibility with their viewers and I can see no benefit for Top Gear to do so.

I have watched this episode of Top Gear two times and I know it is from 2008 and it would not impact a buying decision for me in 2011.

When I had a test drive in the new Tesla in 2005 the transmission did not work so the entire drive was in second gear only. Tesla has now solved this problem with the transmission and customers do not think about it any more.

By taking legal action Tesla increases the visibility of these problems that they seem to have had in 2008 and run the risk of damaging their reputation even further.

Why wouldn’t it be better for Tesla to go to Top Gear and request a new test of the latest Tesla Roadster rather than spend millions of dollars on legal action?

I wrote about my test ride in a Tesla here.