In a comprehensive rebuttal to a negative review of the Tesla Model S published in The New York Times, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk published a blog detailing Tesla's account of the affair based on data logged by recorders in the car.
Last week the Times ran a story by John Broder where the writer set to drive the electric Model S between the East coast's two Supercharging stations, some 200 miles apart. The story ended with Broder having to call a tow truck after the car failed to hold a charge long enough to complete the journey.
Musk claims that Broder tried to sabotage the trip by not charging the car's battery to maximum and for taking a long detour. Musk also pointed out that Broder has long been a critic of electric cars and implies that Broder was looking for problems.
In his blog, called "A Most Peculiar Test Drive," Musk claims that hundreds of journalists have test driven the Model S and that car performs well in super hot and super cold temperatures, noting that Tesla's top sales are in the Nordic countries, where very cold days are part of life.
Musks wrote that after a negative experience with the popular automotive show "Top Gear", Tesla always turns on the car's data recorders when handed over to the media.
"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," Musk said. "In Mr. Broder's case, he simply did not accurately capture what happened and worked very hard to force our car to stop running.
"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 [Broder's] past articles and were unaware of his outright disdain for electric cars.
Musk then cites a line from Broder before the writer had seen 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."
Musk claims that between Broder's dislike of electric cars and the way he drove the Model S in the test drive that "Our Model S never had a chance with John Broder."
Broder responded to the Musk's remarks and addressed them one-by-one.
Tesla claims that Musk's blog is the last comment they will make on the situation.
Broder said he is open to giving the Model S another chance in the future.
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