Electrek/Fred Lambert comments (out of main)

[SteveG3]

Fred acts as stenographer for VW (copy/pasting of press release, without critical thinking, while he takes a microscope/cynicism machine to nearly everything Tesla ever states).

VW unveils production version of ID.3 electric car: starts under $33,000 with range up to 340 miles - Electrek

seems like I'm not the only person pointing out his errors to have been "shadowbanned." comments section echoes Fred's mischaracterization of a Nissan Leaf peer as if it is some kind of big step forward in offering value in an EV.

 

[Mars ☰mperor]

Fred acts as stenographer for VW (copy/pasting of press release, without critical thinking, while he takes a microscope/cynicism machine to nearly everything Tesla ever states).

VW unveils production version of ID.3 electric car: starts under $33,000 with range up to 340 miles - Electrek

seems like I'm not the only person pointing out his errors to have been "shadowbanned." comments section echoes Fred's mischaracterization of a Nissan Leaf peer as if it is some kind of big step forward in offering value in an EV.

Whatever can get clicks, Freaking Fred will write.
Criticizing Tesla while praising competitors will make the stories less boring, which means more clicks for him

 

[Fact Checking]

Whatever can get clicks, Freaking Fred will write.
Criticizing Tesla while praising competitors will make the stories less boring, which means more clicks for him

I'll be less generous here: when the topic is any product of the Volkswagen Group, the supposedly independent, hard hitting, no-nonsense coverage that Tesla is getting from Fred/Electrek is nowhere to be seen.

The pattern over the last couple of months has been that Fred's articles at Electrek about both the VW-Porsche Taycan and the VW ID were uncharacteristically gushing and deferential to manufacturer claims - barely rising above "infomertial" level.

The obvious conclusion: Fred and Elektrek is either taking direct payments from Volkswagen, or is getting access to pre-release information/scoop from Volkswagen PR, for which VW PR expects soft or at least friendly coverage in a spoken or unspoken quid-pro-quo, and Fred's coverage of Volkswagen has turned soft accordingly.

 

[Mars ☰mperor]

I'll be less generous here: when the topic is any product of the Volkswagen Group, the supposedly independent, hard hitting, no-nonsense coverage that Tesla is getting from Fred/Electrek is nowhere to be seen.

The pattern over the last couple of months has been that Fred's articles at Electrek about both the VW-Porsche Taycan and the VW ID were uncharacteristically gushing and deferential to manufacturer claims - barely rising above "infomertial" level.

The obvious conclusion: Fred and Elektrek is either taking direct payments from Volkswagen, or is getting access to pre-release information/scoop from Volkswagen PR, for which VW PR expects soft or at least friendly coverage in a spoken or unspoken quid-pro-quo, and Fred's coverage of Volkswagen has turned soft accordingly.

Yes, that's highly likely. We all know what this guy's true color is.
He has long shadow-banned me. Let's stop talking about him.

 

[wnorris]

I'll be less generous here: when the topic is any product of the Volkswagen Group, the supposedly independent, hard hitting, no-nonsense coverage that Tesla is getting from Fred/Electrek is nowhere to be seen.

The pattern over the last couple of months has been that Fred's articles at Electrek about both the VW-Porsche Taycan and the VW ID were uncharacteristically gushing and deferential to manufacturer claims - barely rising above "infomertial" level.

The obvious conclusion: Fred and Elektrek is either taking direct payments from Volkswagen, or is getting access to pre-release information/scoop from Volkswagen PR, for which VW PR expects soft or at least friendly coverage in a spoken or unspoken quid-pro-quo, and Fred's coverage of Volkswagen has turned soft accordingly.

A more likely explanation could be that Fred is overcompensating to not appear to be biased toward Tesla. He has acknowledged he is a TSLA shareholder. This being the case he is likely trying too hard to appear 'fair and balanced'.

 

[T@oo]

A more likely explanation could be that Fred is overcompensating to not appear to be biased toward Tesla. He has acknowledged he is a TSLA shareholder. This being the case he is likely trying too hard to appear 'fair and balanced'.

Yeah, no.

 

[Fact Checking]

A more likely explanation could be that Fred is overcompensating to not appear to be biased toward Tesla. He has acknowledged he is a TSLA shareholder. This being the case he is likely trying too hard to appear 'fair and balanced'.

The fraudsters and kooks at RealTesla will always be smearing every clean-tech site or blog to be in bed with Tesla, in a non-stop effort to work the referees of public opinion, and there's nothing Fred can do to stop those attacks.

Furthermore on Reddit Fred was defensive about being too negative towards Tesla, in this self-post 4 months ago:

You can hate me, but at least get your facts straight : teslamotors
​

He removed it meanwhile, but in that post Fred complained about getting flak from Tesla fans, which attacks were unfair he argued, despite him being a Tesla shareholder.

So he cannot possibly be defensive about both being too pro Tesla and being too anti Tesla, can he?

 

[dfwatt]

So he cannot possibly be defensive about both being too pro Tesla and being too anti Tesla, can he?

Why not? I don't see any contradiction there. If somebody is defensive enough in the face of criticism that they shadowbanned people for single critical comments, that's the signature of somebody who can't stand anybody disagreeing with them in public. Then the question becomes whether that's due to some sort of brittle narcissism or whether it's due to possible commercial incentives. The question is not whether or not Fred has an anti Tesla bias, it's whether or not he's trustworthy, balanced and fair almost all of the time or whether he can be swayed by commercial incentives. If it's the latter that's hardly any version of a crime or unusual, but it does affect how the reader might view and understand his statements and positions.

 

[Pluto]

I am a longtime reader/commenter on Electrek and have just found out that I was banned from all new comments appearing on their site. I have no bad behavior on their site and had previously felt a stronger affinity towards their site than other sites with news/discussion about EV's like TMC. For reference, I've probably made about 2,500 comments on their site with an average of over 2 likes given to my comments. I'd say this means their readership finds my input at least somewhat valuable.

After a comment that I made almost two months ago (which Frederic Lambert replied to), I have been shadow banned from their site. The comment I made was on an article of theirs reporting that JB Straubel was stepping down as CTO, which was announced on '19 Q2 quarterly call. The article had a single quote of a previous article, which was the following:

“Two sources who have worked with Straubel told Electrek recently that Straubel’s presence at Tesla’s headquarters in Palo Alto has been “scarce” over the last 6-8 months.”​

The article did not quote the quarterly call, and this is what my comment about. I expressed that I hoped they would quote the news source as opposed to another article of theirs that predicted this news:

I hope an edit to this article is made to quote the actual source of this news (the earnings call) as opposed to an indicator from another Electrek article months ago.

EDIT: To be fair, the article did roughly cover what was said on the call but I don't see the point of quoting an old article besides bolstering that Electrek sometimes has accurate sources (which I appreciate, but isn't part of the news).​

Fred then responded with the following:

The article clearly states the source of the news. After that, it simply states that it doesnt come as a completely surprise since we previously reported that he scaled back his presence.​

I assume I was shadow banned after that; I can only see any comments posted on Electrek since then from my Disqus profile now. Apparently it means that my input is unwelcome on Electrek. For reference, I prefer to provide information in a strong majority of my comments and almost never comment about the writer/writing style.

I didn't realize it before, but yes, here's some more evidence that Fred is sensitive to people's input. What a way to alienate your readership huh?

 

[rking0122]

Elektrek is about useless in terms of actual unbiased information.

 

[Bluebay]

A possible explanation is that he may be playing many sides of Tesla - Shareholder, Free cars using referrals from readership, and short seller. He may see that as a Win, Win , Win. Possibility?

 

[rking0122]

A possible explanation is that he may be playing many sides of Tesla - Shareholder, Free cars using referrals from readership, and short seller. He may see that as a Win, Win , Win. Possibility?

Lol, that's how business is done.

 

[Right_Said_Fred]

When I first became aware of TSLAQ and much of the short-selling crowd, I thought to myself, "Ok, it's just another perspective - they think there's a slim to none chance Tesla will succeed, and some are just looking to make money a different way than I would."

What I since discovered is hideous and grotesque and makes me sad about the state of the world. Like what the actual F is up with these people?

I have that same disgusted feeling when I'm reading (and reacting to) comments on Electrek. It's the #1 hangout for trolls, probably because it attracts so many people who want to stay up to date on Tesla news. The trolling, often the same accounts, also starts to spill over to places like Teslarati and Cleantechnica, although they seem to be more proactive in removing the worst shills (thanks @ZachShahan).

Fred on the other hand doesn't seem to be very interested in what this bunch of clowns is doing on his site. I've asked him several times via Twitter if he can do something about it or get someone to moderate, but he doesn't seem to be interested. It's probably all about the clicks, which is a shame if you say you are promoting a cleaner world (and not a hate contest).

This is not meant as the classical 'Fred bashing' post, but I do want to call him out for his inaction. It directly hurts Tesla and clean transportation.

 

[SteveG3]

I have that same disgusted feeling when I'm reading (and reacting to) comments on Electrek. It's the #1 hangout for trolls, probably because it attracts so many people who want to stay up to date on Tesla news. The trolling, often the same accounts, also starts to spill over to places like Teslarati and Cleantechnica, although they seem to be more proactive in removing the worst shills (thanks @ZachShahan).

Fred on the other hand doesn't seem to be very interested in what this bunch of clowns is doing on his site. I've asked him several times via Twitter if he can do something about it or get someone to moderate, but he doesn't seem to be interested. It's probably all about the clicks, which is a shame if you say you are promoting a cleaner world (and not a hate contest).

This is not meant as the classical 'Fred bashing' post, but I do want to call him out for his inaction. It directly hurts Tesla and clean transportation.

The ratio of trolls to genuinely interested parties has also become more of an issue because Fred shadow bans people who point out his errors. Not only does this remove knowledgeable posters, their absence is an invitation for increased trolling.

facts and reason here, not bashing.

 

[jeewee3000]

I have that same disgusted feeling when I'm reading (and reacting to) comments on Electrek. It's the #1 hangout for trolls, probably because it attracts so many people who want to stay up to date on Tesla news. The trolling, often the same accounts, also starts to spill over to places like Teslarati and Cleantechnica, although they seem to be more proactive in removing the worst shills (thanks @ZachShahan).

Fred on the other hand doesn't seem to be very interested in what this bunch of clowns is doing on his site. I've asked him several times via Twitter if he can do something about it or get someone to moderate, but he doesn't seem to be interested. It's probably all about the clicks, which is a shame if you say you are promoting a cleaner world (and not a hate contest).

This is not meant as the classical 'Fred bashing' post, but I do want to call him out for his inaction. It directly hurts Tesla and clean transportation.

Personally I'd enjoy Electrek more if it were just articles without user comments. It adds no value, just clicks. And that's sad, but understandable.

 

[Pezpunk]

The ratio of trolls to genuinely interested parties has also become more of an issue because Fred shadow bans people who point out his errors. Not only does this remove knowledgeable posters, their absence is an invitation for increased trolling.

facts and reason here, not bashing.

Fred banned me for pointing out a troll’s false statements. I tried to appeal to him on twitter and he blocked me there, too.

 

[kbM3]

I have that same disgusted feeling when I'm reading (and reacting to) comments on Electrek. It's the #1 hangout for trolls, probably because it attracts so many people who want to stay up to date on Tesla news. The trolling, often the same accounts, also starts to spill over to places like Teslarati and Cleantechnica, although they seem to be more proactive in removing the worst shills (thanks @ZachShahan).

Fred on the other hand doesn't seem to be very interested in what this bunch of clowns is doing on his site. I've asked him several times via Twitter if he can do something about it or get someone to moderate, but he doesn't seem to be interested. It's probably all about the clicks, which is a shame if you say you are promoting a cleaner world (and not a hate contest).

This is not meant as the classical 'Fred bashing' post, but I do want to call him out for his inaction. It directly hurts Tesla and clean transportation.

Me too. I despise the paid smear campaigners, but that brings out snarkiness and pettiness and a determination to pin them down, in me. I’m afraid for my own sanity, I just need to block them.

It is a tough decision whether to let them derail the entire thread by interacting with them, or let them influence new readers and more innocent readers who do not know better, if all of the experienced people ignore them.

I sometimes learn a lot, by hearing very educated and intelligent posters responding to some of their comments. I do find value in reading the comments of some of the responses to the trolls.

 

[Nocturnal]

Me too. I despise the paid smear campaigners, but that brings out snarkiness and pettiness and a determination to pin them down, in me. I’m afraid for my own sanity, I just need to block them.

It is a tough decision whether to let them derail the entire thread by interacting with them, or let them influence new readers and more innocent readers who do not know better, if all of the experienced people ignore them.

I sometimes learn a lot, by hearing very educated and intelligent posters responding to some of their comments. I do find value in reading the comments of some of the responses to the trolls.

IMO, just limit it to one reply. A basic, factual rebuttal of just one of their claims is enough to discredit their post. Then ignore/block.

 

[Artful Dodger]

Maybe Fred took on-board some of the criticism he was getting because I see a dramatic improvement in the quality of the articles at Electrek. In fact I'm not ashamed to say that I've started proactively visiting the site again.

So far Fred still blocks many balanced supporter of Tesla's mission on Twitter and I call myself to be one of them.

Yeah, 'redFay' didn't write that article, that was Seth. Check the byline next time. There is more than one author on that blog.

The overarching problem with that site is their addiction to 'click bait' headlines. They have initiated numerous bear raids with their 'balance'. All for 40 pieces of silver.

 

[SteveG3]

Yeah, 'redFay' didn't write that article, that was Seth. Check the byline next time. There is more than one author on that blog.

The overarching problem with that site is their addiction to 'click bait' headlines. They have initiated numerous bear raids with their 'balance'. All for 40 pieces of silver.

would be nice if that were the only concern with Electrek, but, unlike any other media outlet, we’re not allowed to discuss concerns re Electrek in this thread... even though they employ a massive censorship tactic that TSLAq does, but as far as I’m aware, none of the rest of the media do.