NYT article: Stalled on the EV Highway

[Grendal]

NYT version of events coming up next...

Tesla CEO: New York Times Article Is

In response, to Musk's charges that the article was misleading, the New York Times issued a statement, calling the article completely factual.

"Any suggestion that the account was 'fake' is, of course, flatly untrue," the statement said. "Our reporter followed the instructions he was given in multiple conversations with Tesla personnel. He described the entire drive in the story; there was no unreported detour. And he was never told to plug the car in overnight in cold weather, despite repeated contact with Tesla."

There is the NYT response. Sounds like a legal persons spin. It's hard to dispute the cars log of where it went and what it did.

If the article specifically doesn't mention the lack of a full charge and the detour where he was speeding then the article was definitely spun to create controversy.

 

[Zzzz...]

 

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[Russell]

View attachment 16354

If it's raining outside, do you keep your windows rolled down?

 

[allanb4me]

looks like all the liquid guys are either angry or jealous.. let them drive gas.

 

[Al Sherman]

I guess there will always be those who strand themselves through inattention, and perhaps there's room for improvement on that front. I wonder how much cost it would add to a vehicle to allow car-to-car "supercharging?" Drive a car with a full charge to one that is dangerously low, connect a cable between the two, and equalize their charge? You can already draw more than enough current from the battery to match the 90kW draw for rapid charging and there's a handy external port on the car designed to enable DC, bypassing the AC chargers...

Don't know if it's possible, but awesome idea. Especially for us bored retired guys who live near interstates.

 

[Krugerrand]

If it's raining outside, do you keep your windows rolled down?

If I or the interior of the car need a bath. :wink:

 

[allanb4me]

i have a bike that runs on petrol.. it has stalled 3 times since 2 years because i dint bother to fill it up. is worthy of nytimes?

These guys are making a mountain of a molehill.

 

[Norbert]

I haven't bothered re-reading the article, but my impression is that he asked a Tesla rep each time if the amount he charged would be enough. So I assumed it was a rep who was either lacked experience/knowledge or who was trying to bend over backward to make the reporter think he didn't have to cool his heels at a charging station too long. If the reporter took long detours, that changes things considerably.

As for charging to the max, again, if the rep didn't instruct the reporter to perform a range charge, then the rep was at fault.

That's one of the things with the article: It creates the impressions he was being supervised by Tesla about each detail, along the way. But he actually claims to have been "cleared" only once (after the 1-hour Level 2 charge), and the circumstances of even that sound very suspect.

 

[ChadS]

I bought a Miata; now I can't take my kids to Disneyland. Sports cars will never take off until they can carry 7 people.

 

[LuckyLuke]

Jalopnik picked up this story:
http://jalopnik.com/elon-musk-super-pissed-about-new-york-times-tesla-range-128299695

 

[JohnQ]

There are a few questions that come out of this:

1. Was the story factual? Yes, on the surface it was, though I can't vouch for whether the range charge happened.
2. Was the reporter being malicious? Unknown. He was, however, acting like your "average" driver.
3. Does driving an EV require more planning than driving an ICE? On road trips, yes, and it's good for the general public to know that.
4. Will one NYT article make or break Tesla? No.

Elon will attack (as he should), the NYT will defend its reporter, and the article is in print meaning the impact has already been made on whatever audience has seen it. It's the secondary effects (blogs carrying the story) that can be swayed.

 

[JRP3]

The only problem I see if there was indeed misinformation given by Tesla staff to the reporter. Not sure how that can be proven one way or the other.

 

[rolosrevenge]

It seems that Jalopnik wants to retest the trip made the way it was supposed to be done. It will be interesting if they show the Times to be completely wrong.

 

[vfx]

The reporter named one Tesla employee but who were the "others" he talked to? Did he not get a expert and called to local store? There are levels of employees and levels of experienced driving knowledge and engineering background. Just because someone works for Tesla it does not mean they are qualified to answer range / cold questions.

 

[Norbert]

Was the story factual? Yes, on the surface it was, though I can't vouch for whether the range charge happened.

What makes you think it was factual, other than simple buying what the author wrote? He used the incident to discredit Steven Chu, and was very one-sided in blaming Tesla.

Was the reporter being malicious? Unknown. He was, however, acting like your "average" driver.

Not sure what you are talking about. The average driver doesn't need a flatbed.

 

[efusco]

It depends on the exact questions that the reporter put to the representative(s) during the drive and what the answers were. It could come down to he said, they said.

Think they're logged? It would be interesting to see that transcript.

 

[evchels]

I bought a Miata; now I can't take my kids to Disneyland. Sports cars will never take off until they can carry 7 people.

Heck, with the universal requirement of 5 seats and 300+ miles of range, my old Saturn still isn't ready for prime time.

However, the he/he said between Elon and NYT aside (and Tesla really does need a better PR response strategy than Elon tweeting "fake" at every negative story), the first half of this thread highlighted some valid points about the need for more and better information to both drivers and media. I hope that internally, some lessons are being learned. By other EV automakers watching, too.

 

[dadaleus]

Elon just retweeted me on this.

My impression reading the article was that the problems he had could have been pretty easily avoided by just leaving some more margin for error. It would have also been good if he could have plugged in overnight as well. A simple 110v outlet would have been fine, and I've been able to use one at nearly all of the dozens of hotels I've stayed at with a Tesla (Roadster or S).

I'd guess Tesla will make sure these things are super clear and there's an expert nearby and monitoring the whole experience for any future reporter drives.

 

[K Hall]

So someone here is lying. It'd be nice to see the vehicle logs.

Lets see CEO of two large public companies and Charman of a 3rd verses a reporter. Really? Who do you think is stretching the truth?