John Broder said:
The car’s display screen said the car was shutting down, and it did. The car did not have enough power to move, or even enough to release the electrically operated parking brake. The tow truck driver was on the phone with Tesla’s New York service manager, Adam Williams, for 15 or 20 minutes as he was trying to move the car onto a flatbed truck.
I can buy this. Both parties have something here. No points given.
John Broder said:
The Tesla personnel whom I consulted over the phone – Ms. Ra and Mr. Merendino – told me to leave it connected for an hour, and after that the lost range would be restored. I did not ignore their advice.
Obviously 1 hour of charging did not in fact restore the range. That is why it still said 32 miles! Point Tesla.
John Broder said:
The phrase “the car fell short of its projected range” appeared in a caption with an accompanying map; it was not in the article. What that referred to (and admittedly could have been more precise) was that the car fell short of the projected range, 90 miles, that it showed when I parked it overnight at a hotel in Groton, Conn.
Tesla is correct that the car did exceed the projected range of 32 miles when I left Norwich, as I was driving slowly, and it gave me hope that the Tesla employee I’d consulted was correct that the mileage lost overnight was being restored. It wasn’t enough, however, to get to Milford.
John gets himself out of this one on a technicality. No points given.
John Broder said:
If there was a public charging station nearby, no one made me aware of it. The Tesla person with whom I was in contact located on the Internet a public charging station in East Haven, Conn., and that is the one I was trying to reach when the car stalled in Branford, about five miles shy of East Haven.
This isn't point worthy. I wouldn't expect to know where to find charge locations if I didn't own a EV. But they were there. Point to Broder, if you think it is worth one.
John Broder said:
I drove normally (at the speed limit or with prevailing traffic) when I thought it was prudent to do so. I do recall setting the cruise control to about 54 m.p.h., as I wrote. The log shows the car traveling about 60 m.p.h. for a nearly 100-mile stretch on the New Jersey Turnpike. I cannot account for the discrepancy, nor for a later stretch in Connecticut where I recall driving about 45 m.p.h., but it may be the result of the car being delivered with 19-inch wheels and all-season tires, not the specified 21-inch wheels and summer tires. That just might have affected the recorded speed, range, rate of battery depletion or any number of other parameters. Tesla’s data suggests I was doing slightly more than 50 over a stretch where the speed limit was 65. The traffic was heavy in that part of Connecticut, so cruise control was not usable, and I tried to keep the speed at 50 or below without impeding traffic.
Certainly, and as Tesla’s logs clearly show, much of my driving was at or well below the 65 m.p.h. speed limit, with only a single momentary spike above 80. Most drivers are aware that cars can speed up, even sometimes when cruise control is engaged, on downhill stretches.
- Didn't have CC at 54 for more than a mile or so, would have been shown on graph. Point Tesla.
- Can't account for 'discrepancy' means he wasn't paying attention or is lying. Point Tesla.
- Can't account for 'remembering' driving 45 when obviously not means he wasn't paying attention or is lying. Point Tesla.
- Bringing up lie about tire sizes that would only make a correction in the opposite way his satememnt is a NYT error for letting it get printed. Point Tesla. This is pure misinformation that Media outlets should NOT be allowed to print.
- Cruise control spiking 15mph in normal operation. When graph shows VERY tight control over 100s of miles. Lie! Point Tesla.
[QUOTE John Broder][FONT=georgia, times new roman, times, serif]
I raised and lowered the cabin heat in an effort to strike a balance between saving energy and staying somewhat comfortable. (It was 30 degrees outside when I began the trip, and the temperature plunged that night to 10 degrees.) Tesla jumped to the conclusion that I claimed to have lowered the cabin temperature “at 182 miles,” but I never wrote that. The data clearly indicates that I sharply lowered the temperature setting – twice – a little over 200 miles into the trip. After the battery was charged I tried to warm the cabin.[/QUOTE][/FONT]
[FONT=georgia, times new roman, times, serif]
I agree with Broder on this one. But he definitely wrote about how cold and miserable the cabin was, if it was really cold outside he would have had a coat it wouldn't have been that bad. But Point Broder.[/FONT]
[FONT=georgia, times new roman, times, serif]
John Broder said:
[/FONT]According to my notes, I plugged into the Milford Supercharger at 5:45 p.m. and disconnected at 6:43 p.m. The range reading was 185 miles.
Ok, you took somewhat bad notes. Off a few minutes no problem, off 11 minutes you need to get better at your job. Who cares that it said 185 miles, you just saw driving to that charge spot you get less actual miles than that number says! Point Tesla.
John Broder said:
I stopped at 72 percent because I had replenished more than enough energy for the miles I intended to drive the next day before fully recharging on my way back to New York. In Norwich, I charged for an hour on the lower-power charger, expressly on the instructions of Tesla personnel, to get enough range to reach the Supercharger station in Milford.
Obviously you DID NOT have enough energy to do all your driving, you ran out of power! You just saw driving to that charge spot you get less actual miles than that number says! Point Tesla.
John Broder said:
I drove around the Milford service plaza in the dark looking for the Supercharger, which is not prominently marked. I was not trying to drain the battery. (It was already on reserve power.) As soon as I found the Supercharger, I plugged the car in.
The stop in Manhattan was planned from the beginning and known to Tesla personnel all along. According to Google Maps, taking the Lincoln Tunnel into Manhattan (instead of crossing at the George Washington Bridge) and driving up the West Side Highway added only two miles to the overall distance from Newark, Del., to Milford, Conn.
Neither I nor the Model S ever visited “downtown Manhattan."
I can accept Broder's explanation of finding the charge. I don't believe him. I still think he drove around some, but it is plausible. Point Broder.
Obviously Broder didn't go to 'downtown' manhatten. The Lincoln Tunnel put you out too high up. Maybe midtown?. Who cares on this one. No points given.
So tallying things up I get.
Tesla John Broder
8 2
Not to mention there are inaccuricies and lies from Broder and the NYT. Or just 'bad at job' behavior. Tesla did stretch the cabin temperature bit unfairly. And making a big deal about 0.6 miles is pretty petty (but truthful!). But I think this thing boils down to this one quote!
John Broder said:
I stopped at 72 percent because I had replenished more than enough energy for the miles I intended to drive the next day before fully recharging on my way back to New York.
No you didn't that is why the car ran out of energy!