Posted on 02/16/2013 10:33:20 AM PST by Vince Ferrer
You may have heard recently about an article written by John Broder from The New York Times that makes numerous claims about the performance of the Model S. We are upset by this article because it does not factually represent Tesla technology, which is designed and tested to operate well in both hot and cold climates. Indeed, our highest per capita sales are in Norway, where customers drive our cars during Arctic winters in permanent midnight, and in Switzerland, high among the snowy Alps. About half of all Tesla Roadster and Model S customers drive in temperatures well below freezing in winter. While no car is perfect, after extremely thorough testing, the Model S was declared to be the best new car in the world by the most discerning authorities in the automotive industry.
To date, hundreds of journalists have test driven the Model S in every scenario you can imagine. The car has been driven through Death Valley (the hottest place on Earth) in the middle of summer and on a track of pure ice in a Minnesota winter. It has traveled over 600 miles in a day from the snowcapped peaks of Tahoe to Los Angeles, which made the very first use of the Supercharger network, and moreover by no lesser person than another reporter from The New York Times. Yet, somehow John Broder discovered a problem and was unavoidably left stranded on the road. Or was he?
After a negative experience several years ago with Top Gear, a popular automotive show, where they pretended that our car ran out of energy and had to be pushed back to the garage, we always carefully data log media drives. While the vast majority of journalists are honest, some believe the facts shouldnt get in the way of a salacious story. In the case of Top Gear, they had literally written the script before they even received the car (we happened to find a copy of the script on a table while the car was being tested). Our car never even had a chance.
The logs show again that our Model S never had a chance with John Broder. In the case with Top Gear, their legal defense was that they never actually said it broke down, they just implied that it could and then filmed themselves pushing what viewers did not realize was a perfectly functional car. In Mr. Broders case, he simply did not accurately capture what happened and worked very hard to force our car to stop running.
Here is a summary of the key facts:
When Tesla first approached The New York Times about doing this story, it was supposed to be focused on future advancements in our Supercharger technology. There was no need to write a story about existing Superchargers on the East Coast, as that had already been done by Consumer Reports with no problems! We assumed that the reporter would be fair and impartial, as has been our experience with The New York Times, an organization that prides itself on journalistic integrity. As a result, we did not think to read his past articles and were unaware of his outright disdain for electric cars. We were played for a fool and as a result, let down the cause of electric vehicles. For that, I am deeply sorry.
When I first heard about what could at best be described as irregularities in Broders behavior during the test drive, I called to apologize for any inconvenience that he may have suffered and sought to put my concerns to rest, hoping that he had simply made honest mistakes. That was not the case.
In his own words in an article published last year, this is how Broder felt about electric cars before even seeing the Model S:
"Yet the state of the electric car is dismal, the victim of hyped expectations, technological flops, high costs and a hostile political climate.
When the facts didnt suit his opinion, he simply changed the facts. Our request of The New York Times is simple and fair: please investigate this article and determine the truth. You are a news organization where that principle is of paramount importance and what is at stake for sustainable transport is simply too important to the world to ignore.
Somebody mentioned that they probably figure the battle is won (the battle vs Republicans) and the intramurals have begun.
I don’t know whether to cheer or cry....
Bull cheet...
Hear the sound of the crickets from the U.S. media about this statement which is pretty radical considering the gummint policies, subsidies and propaganda. Nissan as well as Toyota have said "Sayonara" to the hybrid nonsense. Maybe Yugo will pick up the ball to satisfy the lone enthusiast above.
And yet I was told just above that my post was bullsh*t.
Right. I make this stuff up. NOT.
I've used them as well as gasoline and propane models.
{don't like the propane stink though.]....ha
Is that the best ya got? Just go into denial mode because you didn't read it in the AMERICAN media? ROFL!
Bill Gate
640K should be enough for anybody
Takehisa Yaegashi, the inventor of the Toyota Prius recently said
battery technology and electric/hybird vehicles had reached their technology capabilities
Your post #68 and the link from it say it well for me.
BTW, I see you read the same article(s) that I did on this topic. Isn't it interesting that the American newsmedia is completely IGNORING the inventor of the Prius' statements that hybrid technology is pretty much at a stand-still, and absent a major breakthrough in battery technology (which hasn't happened in 25 years...) that conventional gas and diesel engines will SURPASS mileage and performance of hybrids very quickly.
No surprise, look at the number of reasonably sized & priced vehicles that now get 40+mpg on the highway. That's easily within spitting distance of the oft over-hyped 50mpg of the Prius, which seldom achieves that level of efficiency in America due to driving habits, roads, etc..
Look, if you believe battery technology has reached it’s technological capabilities and has hit a wall, I can’t help ya. If ya do some research you’ll find battery technology is being developed and improved all the time.
Suggest you go back and re-read what I posted with a fresh set of eyes, specifically my posts #68 and 69. Not saying it's "not possible." Am saying it's going to take a long time based on the last "major advancement" being 25 years ago.
Look, I personally know several folks at Argonne National Labs. (Suggest you google Argonne National Labs.) They received a substantial Government Grant to do the very thing I posted: a "Manhattan project" for the next battery technology. The announcement they received the funding was HUGE, made national news. (Perhaps you missed it?)
These are people who are "true believers" in green energy/green technologies. THEY SAY it'll take potentially several decades to advance battery technology to where it needs to be, which is longer lasting, quicker charging to compete with conventional hydro-carbon fueled engines. In their words "they have to invent the technology to invent the technology" to make the breakthroughs they believe they already know must happen.
Now if you put Takehisa Yaegashi's (inventor of the Prius for Toyota) comments in that context - he's exactly right that conventional gasoline and diesel engine technology will surpass battery based vehicle technologies in achieving new efficiencies.
If it's not obvious to you that's true, suggest you look at average vehicle MPG over the last 40 years vs. battery lifetime and technology over the last 40 years. There's no comparison which technology is advancing faster. Any reasonable person with a basic understanding of the two technologies can see that. The data's on the internet if you care to look.
Not saying it's "not possible." Am saying it's going to take a long time based on the last "major advancement" being 25 years ago.
More bull cheet...
Now ya suggest battery technology has not reached technological capabilities and will just take more time..
Which is it?
BTW, has the gas engine reach it's max level of efficiency? No? It's still being develop?
Get real.
Audi A8, of course. Don't know what made me type BMW.
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