This is why wealthy CEO engineers should not get into PR: http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/that-tesla-data-what-it-says-and-what-it-doesnt/
If you don't know the back story, NY times tested the Tesla S and ran out of power before getting to its destination. The blamed it on cold snap which took the temps down to 30 degrees.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk pulled out the car logs and blasted the reported for fabricating details of the test. The above article is the latest round of fights between them. I don't see how anyone who knows anything about how reporters work would think he could win even if he had more facts on his side. As it is, I am sitting here thinking if I bought a Tesla and it keeps track of everything I do in it including when I go to the bathroom!
It is a simple fact that batteries lose a ton of their rated life when temps go down. When shooting with my camera in cold temps, I can have a fully charged Lithium Ion battery go dead after just using 10 to 20% of its life. The fact that the same thing happened here is just expected.
What is not expected is the random advice they gave to the reporter. They told him for example to speed up and slow down to rejuvenated the battery. Speeding up uses a lot of energy. I guess they thought it would warm up the battery bank in the process but I would think the net result is negative. Ditto for using the heater while sitting there for the charge to return. The batteries are not in the cabin so how was that going to be a net positive thing? No wonder then that the reporter found that it did nothing but reduce the remaining charge. Tesla makes things worse contradicting such advice given by their own people.
According to the reporter, he had made countless calls to Tesla people during his drive. Surely you don't get to cry foul after the fact when such communication went on and at this intensity. If someone tests something without ever asking you, sure. But this?
Any normal CEO who needed to make a living from a company would not remotely approach this affair this way. Even if they were right, they should have met privately with the reporter and got him to accept his mistakes, if any, and have him write a retraction. Failing that, the standard practice is to get another reporter do the same and and if you are right, write a positive review to counteract it. You don't go tweeting calling a NY times reporter a liar and such. The world just does not work that way.
BTW, I saw the car in the local mall and it far exceeded my expectations on every front including value. And I saw Elon Musk on a 60 minutes interview on space exploration and thought very positively of him. I just think he should let the PR people handle such things rather than getting personally involved. And being so emotionally defensive. Battery operated cars are going to have such limitations and you are going to face negative reporting from time to time.
Here is a reasoned response similar to mine from CNET: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-57569430-48/tesla-the-times-and-how-to-drive-an-electric-car/
Read the report and let me know what you think.
If you don't know the back story, NY times tested the Tesla S and ran out of power before getting to its destination. The blamed it on cold snap which took the temps down to 30 degrees.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk pulled out the car logs and blasted the reported for fabricating details of the test. The above article is the latest round of fights between them. I don't see how anyone who knows anything about how reporters work would think he could win even if he had more facts on his side. As it is, I am sitting here thinking if I bought a Tesla and it keeps track of everything I do in it including when I go to the bathroom!
It is a simple fact that batteries lose a ton of their rated life when temps go down. When shooting with my camera in cold temps, I can have a fully charged Lithium Ion battery go dead after just using 10 to 20% of its life. The fact that the same thing happened here is just expected.
What is not expected is the random advice they gave to the reporter. They told him for example to speed up and slow down to rejuvenated the battery. Speeding up uses a lot of energy. I guess they thought it would warm up the battery bank in the process but I would think the net result is negative. Ditto for using the heater while sitting there for the charge to return. The batteries are not in the cabin so how was that going to be a net positive thing? No wonder then that the reporter found that it did nothing but reduce the remaining charge. Tesla makes things worse contradicting such advice given by their own people.
According to the reporter, he had made countless calls to Tesla people during his drive. Surely you don't get to cry foul after the fact when such communication went on and at this intensity. If someone tests something without ever asking you, sure. But this?
Any normal CEO who needed to make a living from a company would not remotely approach this affair this way. Even if they were right, they should have met privately with the reporter and got him to accept his mistakes, if any, and have him write a retraction. Failing that, the standard practice is to get another reporter do the same and and if you are right, write a positive review to counteract it. You don't go tweeting calling a NY times reporter a liar and such. The world just does not work that way.
BTW, I saw the car in the local mall and it far exceeded my expectations on every front including value. And I saw Elon Musk on a 60 minutes interview on space exploration and thought very positively of him. I just think he should let the PR people handle such things rather than getting personally involved. And being so emotionally defensive. Battery operated cars are going to have such limitations and you are going to face negative reporting from time to time.
Here is a reasoned response similar to mine from CNET: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-57569430-48/tesla-the-times-and-how-to-drive-an-electric-car/
Read the report and let me know what you think.