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Tesla Motors (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk is out with a blog post defending the range performance of the...
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Thursday, February 14, 9:27 AM ETTesla Motors (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk is out with a blog post defending the range performance of the Model S. After putting out a combative series of tweets on the test drive of a Model S detailed in the New York Times, Musk goes even further with detailed charts and accusations of the objectivity of the NYT reporter. "When the facts didn’t suit his opinion, he simply changed the facts."
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Pay $100,000 for the car, follow instructions to the letter, don't take a wrong turn or a small side trip, make sure the car is completely charged and the weather not too cold or you may run out of juice. No thanks!
All that for a $100k and you get to save the world as well.
Who wouldn't sign up for that?
" However, after Tesla's litigious run-in with Top Gear, the company keeps detailed vehicle data logs to ensure it gets a fair deal in reviews. Now, Tesla (and SpaceX) CEO Elon Musk has posted the data that, he says, proves Broder wasn't being fair.
Musk accuses Broder of pulling the plug on a recharge with just 32 miles range in the tank, despite planning a route of 61 miles "in obvious violation of common sense." He also says the reviewer drove past a public charge station, despite repeated warnings that it was running low, drove the car around at 81mph and "deliberately stopped charging" after shorter and shorter times.
Musk finishes by saying that the company was wrong to offer Broder access to the vehicle, as it was "unaware of his outright disdain for electric cars" and asks the New York Times to investigate the review. "
Look at the data. There are two secrets to operating an electric car: You gotta plug it in. And, you gotta charge it up.
From the car log data, it is very clear that Mr. Broder ignored Secret #2. Repeatedly.
On the day of Mr. Broder's adventure, the Model S he was driving was certainly not the only car between D.C. and Norwich that ended up on a flatbed. But it probably was the only one that got there on purpose.
Sure you can drive fast if you want. You can run the radio. You can launch yourself up that interstate ramp. You'll just have to charge up sooner. An why is their an aversion to planning? Is it not sensible to plan any long road trip to avoid potential problems?
Yes. Broder exceeded the Tesla recommended maximum of 55 mph on a major highway with a 65 mph limit. Nothing wrong with limiting an essentially brand new $100,000 performance car to 55 mph.
This journalist's 'review' was for a very specific topic...use of SuperCharger stations. His own words in his opening 'rebuttal'.
It was long ago admitted to Broder (and the world) that the distance between the two SuperCharger stations he would be using was further than Tesla would like, and further than Tesla intends it to be going forward. Because of that, Broder was given three instructions so that he could complete the trip successfully between the two stations:
1) fully charge the car at station #1
2) don't take any detours
3) drive the speed limit
It seems that once he had that information, the information that would allow him to easily do the trip in comfort and thus the article on how the SuperCharger stations work, he decided not to follow any of them and make sure to get himself stranded so he could get that sensational picture of the Model S being loaded on a flatbed.
When he left from his hotel he knew he couldn't make it and rather than go back to the SuperCharger to top off and make sure that he could make it - remember, the article was suppose to be about using SuperCharger stations for long distance trips - he decided to carry on, knowing full well he'd run out of charge before reaching his destination.
If you think that's a fair assessment of the car's ability to do long distances using the SuperCharger stations, then we all know your opinion on the topic carries as much weight as a feather.
I do like how he was circling around the charge station for half a mile with 0 charge. To me that screams of his intent to have the car stop- the charging stations are unique so its not likely that he was trying to find a spot.
Interesting about the cabin temperature and speed too which goes against Broders original claim.
It now comes down to who do you believe a reporter whose actions in an EV border on EV driving incompetence through his own admitted actions OR data from data logger.
And I think, in point of fact, any Model S owner could have seen through the glitches in the NYT story ... time and again it went against my own experience with the car, as well as just plain common sense. For instance, if it's going to be a long way between charging station, fill your "tank" up all the way at each charging station ... which he did not. Even if you overlook this one obvious glitch, if you are running out of "gas" you can stop anywhere there is a place to "tank-up", which there were many ... and he didn't do that either.
Now that we have the actual logs from the car itself, that should speak volumes about what really happened. At this point it is up to the New York Times to come out with a retraction and an apology - and possibly firing of the writer himself for what he did ... if not more. If it doesn't do that, then Tesla may have no other alternative than to take legal action to remedy the obvious attempt to tear down the reputation of the Model S, Tesla and electric vehicles in general.
My conclusion: the reporter intentionally tried to cause range failure for the Tesla. After failing at his initial two attempts, he simply left the charging station with half the range needed to get to his final destination, where the Tesla outperformed its range indication and nearly made it anyway!
Presuming the facts are true and if Tesla did not lie itself or implement faulty range tracking software (range tracking is relatively straight forward computer code), the car's range appears quite near its actual claims...
Secondly, how much advertising do the auto makers and gasoline companies do in the NYT? How much do the ev makers and electric power companies spend?
Are you as shocked as I am that the Times would be against anything challenging their advertisers?
The problem with "common sense" is that there's so little of it.
Further, the NYT writer decided to *not* stop at any number of EV charging stations he passed. There are lots and lots of them his route. The only reason to not stop at a gas station when you are running low on gas is if you have an agenda.
He also didn't plug in at night, which is something that BEV's can do that gasoline powered cars cannot. You cannot fuel up your car at the hotel, or in your own garage.
Of course he could have cranked the heat to 80 degrees. Of course he could have driven 85 mph the whole way. However, if he does that, then he'd have to plug into a EV charging station along the way - the superchargers at the moment are too far apart to be able to do that on a cold day. Does that mean there aren't enough people to buy 50k-60k Teslas in 2013/14? I don't think so... I think people buying BEV's at this stage of the game understand the product. As the tradeoffs with BEV's become more and more favorable for BEV's (widespread fast charging, larger disparity between electricty and gasoline costs, larger capacity and lower cost battery packs, etc.) then TSLA will be well positioned to be a major factor - and will have the brand equity, the technical know-how, and the operation to be a new major force in the American automobile industry.