7
Who'd win in a fight? Tesla or the New York Times?
Tesla Motors Chairman and CEO Elon Musk and chief designer Franz von Holzhausen drive the Tesla Model S all-electric sedan on March 26, 2009. Musk is challenging a recent New York Times article that says the latest Tesla model failed a test drive from Washington, D.C. to Boston.
To view this content, Javascript must be enabled and Adobe Flash Player must be installed.
Whether or not electric cars ever make it big, this week could eventually be looked at as a turning point. Not so much in the development of the cars themselves but in how they're perceived by the public -- and written about in the press.
This past weekend, the New York Times published a story about Tesla, EV cars, and new charging stations. Suffice it to say that it was not a story Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk was pleased with, seeing as how the the car wound up on a flat bed truck.
Now, Musk is challenging the report with detailed logs of the trip that New York Times reporter John Broder wrote about.
“Bottom line, Tesla pitched a road-trip story to the New York Times and is now unhappy with the story that the New York Times’s printed. And is going after them for faking it and slanting it and the whole thing when really it just wasn’t the wisest trip to begin with,” says Wired Magazine contributor Chelsea Sexton. “ It’s not what the EV experience represents.”
Sexton points out that, in general, there is a double standard for electric vehicles.
“No new product does absolutely everything in exactly the same way as the product its replacing,” she says. "And yet when it comes to electric cars that’s the expectation."
Sexton says EVs are great for lots of things, like running errands and commuting.
"(EVs) are not great for boat-towing and road trips and off-roading," she says. "Neither is a Corvette.”
Simultaneous Comments - I know Chelsea personally. She was thrust into the forefront of the current EV movement, largely thanks to her "star making" appearance in Chris Paine's "Who Killed the Electric Car".
Yes, her husband Bob was fired unexpectedly, without explanation from Tesla last year. He was one of the longest tenured service tech at Tesla's West LA showroom. You could say he was Elon's personal service tech for his Roadster(s) and Model S. I don't know why Bob was let go, and I didn't probe Chelsea or Bob.
If I were to hazard a guess, it's Elon's giant ego (you've seen his tweets and his rambling accusatory blog post, no?) and Chelsea's critical opinion of Tesla played a role. Again, that's just my personal OPINION.
Chelsea has personally done more to push the EV revolution forward than most individuals. I suggest YOU check your facts before you start any rumors you can't support.
I've read all published stories on this non-issue by Musk and New York Times. Tesla has as much blame for this PR fiasco than John Broder's article.
Good day.
Edju,
Not sure which of my noted ‘facts’ you are indicating could be rumours. I provided links to information to support my argument. I suggest you step back and re-read my commentary: my point, again, is that it is paramount for any legitimate news authority (MP in this case) to make sure they are not relying on subject authorities that are potentially overly biased. And these to ‘facts’ highlight why Ms. Sexton qualifies as overly biased when speaking about Tesla.
Indeed, all opinions are appreciated, even yours. You are not the only person by the way who knows Ms. Sexton ‘personally’. While she has focused much of her time to support the expansion of EVs from niche to something other, frankly she can be accused of an ego similar to Mr. Musk’s. Too often when speaking its her way (opinion) or the highway. Frankly I do not agree with a much of what she says, in spite of understanding the benefits (all, not just environmental) of EVs.
Much like a seventieth-season American Idol winner who believes the world’s attention is on he or she, perhaps it was her appearance in "Who Killed the Electric Car" that enticed her into becoming more of a self-professed, self-serving “Queen of the EV Supreme Court”.
I noticed that while you acknowledged the dismissal of her husband from Tesla, you conveniently did not comment on my other ‘fact’, her work with Nissan since Fall 2012 to attempt to revise their Leaf marketing plan. She is not undertaking this gratis. In the small EV universe, Tesla and Nissan, particularly as Nissan looks to bring out higher-end Infiniti versions of its EVs, are competitors…
As for the NYT article and subsequent follow-up and commentary, if a journalist hopes to publish a conclusive story, particularly if negative, that journalist must irrevocably document his or her proceedings and be sure to follow them clearly in their piece. This rule too often goes unchecked by editors in recent times.
Pragmatically speaking, Mr. Musk believes he has the documentation to specifically challenge John Broder. Kudos then to Elon for defending his business (and the manufacturing entrepreneurship we need) from unchecked attacks…as long as his documentation stands up.
Have a great President’s weekend.
Hi,
First, both the Wired article and my comments in this interview were about the bigger picture of EV marketing and the double-standards regarding EV evaluation, not . And I'm not a "self-proclaimed expert". Ewwww.
However - as I suspect you know if we've had as much interaction as your comments suggest- I've had a variety of views into and perspectives about Tesla since getting to know the founding team back in 2005. My husband working for Tesla for some of those years is one of them. My opinions have never been premised on Bob's employment, sometimes to his chagrin- but nevertheless I generally refrained from writing about the company while he worked there (I did post a short tribute on my own blog after the plane crash), and I suggested disclosures when quotes of mine were used. I took similar steps during the period that I was an advisor to one of Tesla's primary venture investors (VantagePoint), after introducing them to each other. I helped produce a film that is basically a Valentine to Elon and Tesla. And I've supported Tesla and its employees in other ways, with donations of time and experience, even baked goods for the folks at the LA store. Bottom line- I'm a known fan of the company and its mission. I'm just not one that believes that supporting an effort requires ongoing belief and public testimony that it can do no wrong, nor that doing so helps our credibility as advocates. But, I fully understand and expect that people will filter my comments through the lens of whatever assumptions they've made about my biases; we all do that.
And yes, Bob was indeed let go from Tesla last summer. There was no cause involved, and Elon was not involved afaik. This too was never a secret, and I posted about it first. But given the above, I don't have the animosity toward Tesla about that situation that folks seem to assume. And, if my husband's former employment is a disqualifying factor for commenting, it would rule out most companies in the industry. Using the same standard with my own employment, I could never have been involved with either "Who Killed the Electric Car?" or "Revenge of the Electric Car." I find, however, that folks tend not to mind those nearly as much...
Regarding Nissan, I've not been engaged to "revise their marketing plan", though I've certainly suggested that they - like the rest of the industry - could benefit from doing so (and yes, I'm aware of articles that have confused this point). I was asked to form an advisory board for Nissan comprised primarily of LEAF drivers, and I have been helping the company in that capacity. To date, that help actually has been "gratis". If and when that changes, I will again make disclosures on any relevant articles and interviews, and recommend others do the same.
Thanks,
chelsea sexton
Marketplace should be embarrassed by a story like this. This wasn't reporting where an honest attempt was made to explore and better understand something. Instead you ran with the claims of a self-proclaimed expert who is clearly not an expert.
Instead of acknowledging that most people value things with a car that the electric car still does not offer. She goes the path of claiming that we do not know what we want. But do not worry! This expert knows what we really want!
Even if Marketplace is going to fall for this pile of pompous failure with such a claim, the lease you could do is not allow Chelsea's puerile reasoning to go unchallenged.
1) Electric cars are not new. Electric cars are as old as cars with combustion engines.
2) DVRs are superios to VCRS. we value the ease of use of the DVR far more than we valued taking a copy over to our mother's place.
3) Mobile phones are superior to land lines. We valued improvements such as people can reach us at one phone number no matter where we go instead of that number being tightly tethered to a tiny physical location.
4) Most people admire the Corvette but don't buy it because it doesn't do want they want in the car. Pointing at the 'vette and saying "it don't do that stuff" doesn't prove that we are incorrectly choosing combustion engine cars over EVs. It only shows that EV is a niche product.
I don't expect reporting to be perfect. I don't expect stories to align with my views. But I do expect reporting to explore issues, not be a regurgitated pile of PR pumped out by a self-proclaimed expert.
Kai, love your show, but I was a little surprised with Chelsea's comments. How about doing a story about the importance of truth in news...seems like nytimes, jayson blair and john broder go hand in hand. Why is it wrong to right a wrong? it use to be that someone with a big platform can beat down someone. the net has changed things.
Kai, love your show and love that you are looking at both EVs and new technologies with a serious and balanced approach, but its important to check your commentator's background. Chelsea, as down to earth as she may seem, has two legitimate issues that make me doubt any of her comments about tesla even prior to listening:
* Her husband was fired from Tesla last year...you can look online at what was said at the time to determine circumstances.
(http://evchels.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/bittersweet-symphony/)
* She now is working with Nissan to 'help' them with the marketing of their Leaf EV (http://www.torquenews.com/1075/chelsea-sexton-forming-advisory-board-hel...)
It often seems perplexing the degree of criticism given to these new, potentially competitively advantageous technologies American companies are pioneering. Tesla rightfully is defending itself against a report that may not be all that it was claiming and seemingly can provide the proof.
Granted, all sides' claims should be examined pragmatically, but kindly be sure your commentators do not carry a predetermined bias or conflict of interest.
This segment aside, keep up the good work.
Kai, love your show and love that you are looking at both EVs and new technologies with a serious and balanced approach, but its important to check your commentator's background. Chelsea, as down to earth as she may seem, has two legitimate issues that make me doubt any of her comments about tesla even prior to listening:
* Her husband was fired from Tesla last year...you can look online at what was said at the time to determine circumstances.
(http://evchels.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/bittersweet-symphony/)
* She now is working with Nissan to 'help' them with the marketing of their Leaf EV (http://www.torquenews.com/1075/chelsea-sexton-forming-advisory-board-hel...)
It often seems perplexing the degree of criticism given to these new, potentially competitively advantageous technologies American companies are pioneering. Tesla rightfully is defending itself against a report that may not be all that it was claiming and seemingly can provide the proof.
Granted, all sides' claims should be examined pragmatically, but kindly be sure your commentators do not carry a predetermined bias or conflict of interest.
This segment aside, keep up the good work.
