As far as I'm aware, it looks like Musk came out with a blog post late Monday where he said that Tesla actually requested the probe from NHTSA last week. Bloomberg reported this morning that NHTSA administrator David Strickland said that he was unaware that Tesla asked the agency to look into the incidents. Is anyone following this bit of news? Care to share your thoughts? Just about everything I've heard from Bloomberg regarding Tesla has been negative, so I've never considered them to be an impartial source of news on Tesla. But I don't want that thinking getting in the way here.
Let's read what he actually wrote... "Second, we have requested that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conduct a full investigation as soon as possible into the fire incidents." Emphasis added to help you out. Elon never said (or even implied imo) that he initiated the investigation, only that he requested to NHTSA to hurry it up. b
At this point, I believe Elon thinks the way to clear up the issue, is to welcome them to investigate, and hopefully conclude there's nothing to see here, move on you Looky Louis (to borrow a line from SouthParks Officer Bob Brady). Confidence needs to be restored for owners and investors, so having the NHTSA investigate and officially "clear" the Model S is probably the only way to get that done, at this point. Not that there ever was a problem, but you know perception is sometimes deemed more important than the science and facts.
Agree. I read some articles where the journalist didn't read accurately what Elon said giving a false interpretation of his words. Maybe that the journalist didn't even read Elon's blog. I don't really understand why the press is the USA is so much focused against Elon. You can like or not Tesla, but to give a false interpretation of Elon's words is something that I don't understand.
I'm pro elon, but i definitely read that blog as he asked them to do the investigation. Perhaps the emphasis was supposed to be on the speed, but it didn't come across that way for me. Also, this part here sort of lead me to think they didn't originally think it was a good idea, but now they do, which is why they asked. Again, my interpretation when I first read it: Given that the incidence of fires in the Model S is far lower than combustion cars and that there have been no resulting injuries, this did not at first seem like a good use of NHTSA’s time compared to the hundreds of gasoline fire deaths per year that warrant their attention. However, there is a larger issue at stake: if a false perception about the safety of electric cars is allowed to linger, it will delay the advent of sustainable transport and increase the risk of global climate change, with potentially disastrous consequences worldwide. That cannot be allowed to happen.
He also tweeted this: "Elon Musk @elonmusk 11h On Friday last week, Tesla VP of Regulatory Affairs, Jim Chen, invited NHTSA senior staff to conduct a review of Model S" https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/402843898705215488
Hmmm, so the word of Elon vs the word of some guy at the NHTSA. Probably a miscommunication somewhere. Doubt it was a straight up lie on either side. With so much to lose, why would Elon Musk tell a lie?
Am I going crazy or is everything I hear out of Bloomberg negative on Tesla? Anyone else feel like that?
Your interpretation is right. Once that the NHTSA decided to enquire about this matter Tesla and Elon asked to hurry up the enquiries. But in the article that I read the journalist wrote that Elon and Tesla claimed to have asked to the NHTSA to start the enquiries, which is not true. Elon and Tesla only asked to the NHTSA to hurry up the enquiries. I think that a newspaper has in the first place the duty to report the truth. This event gives the evidence IMO that the press in the USA is focused in bad faith against Tesla as Elon stated in his blog.
So Friday. Government doesn't work weekends and the investigation opened early today. I'd guess that each were working on their own with a missed communication. No lies from either side. One, or at most, two days is not that long a time for government work.
I agree. Elon has everything to lose and little to gain telling such a lie. There's lots of people calling him a liar already, it makes it much worse if it's actually a lie.
I ran across an article with an actual full quote of what David Strickland at NHTSA said today. http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?...PACGKREVUK1DJK “I am not aware of Tesla making a request of the agency to open a formal investigation,” “I’ve never heard of an automaker formally requesting an investigation, and I don’t think this probably happened in this case.” So somehow these words which show he clearly has no idea whether or not Tesla asked and was clearly not directly involved in opening the case were turned into him saying it didn't happen. Props to this journalist for not only properly quoting him but also calling Jim Chen at Tesla to ask his take on the story. I'm inclined to believe Elon. I think it could have been Tesla asking that a probable investigation be opened immediately but I'm pretty sure Tesla is telling the truth.
That clears it up. No conspiracies. No lying. Just a matter of timing. Chen called the same day that the NHTSA opened the investigation and Strickland didn't get the message.
A good point. He should be careful with his wording though because the NHTSA already thinks he's too loose in how he treats/refers to them. - - - Updated - - - It is important to remember that the NHTSA doesn't take "requests" from manufacturers. To do so, either for or against an investigation, would undermine the agencies authority. I think they take more issue with that fact than any miscommunication that may have occurred.
NHTSA's head, David Strickland is stepping down. What are the implications for the ongoing Tesla probe? http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-12/top-u-s-auto-safety-regulator-stepping-down-amid-tesla-probe.html?cmpid=yhoo
Ooooooo, now that's entirely interesting. And since I have a good imagination and love an equally good conspiracy...... :biggrin:
shorts are in big trouble. The guy stepping in for Strickland to take charge of NHTSA is David Friedman. He was Strickland's deputy but before that worked for the Union of Concerned Scientists for 12 years. Go to their website and check it out. This is bad bad news for shorts in terms of NHTSA verdicts on the fires that haven't injured anyone. this is like a game of musical chairs for the shorts and only some of them heard the music stop while others will have a delayed reaction or will be the last to hear the music stop when NHTSA (now headed by a major environmentalist) has their official release of no recall.