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| The Tesla Roadster. The car that has sparked controversy between Top Gear and Tesla. Photo credit blogcdn.com. |
He raced it against a Lotus Elise, then he blasted it around the track in typical Top Gear fashion while giving it a very "Clarksoneqsue" review.
After a while the car supposedly ran out of charge and was pushed into the garage. Another roadster was brought out only to have alleged issues of an overheating engine.
It appears Tesla is unhappy with how the review went, and now, as reported by Leslie Horn from PC Magazine, they are suing the popular car show for libel.
At this point you may be thinking "where do they get off? I love Top Gear and they can do no wrong." Well, Tesla has set up a page on their website to explain what they are suing for.
According to the page Tesla feels as though Top Gear misrepresented their car's charge, range, and reliability. They say "the breakdowns were staged and the statements are untrue."
They also say there is no way the cars ran out of battery charge and at least one of them was available to be driven at any given point during the tests. The full claim form can be seen here.
The interesting thing about this lawsuit is the timing of it. The episode was aired over two years ago in December of 2008.
The maximum amount of damages Tesla expects they can win is £100, 000 ($155, 580 CDN) which is not an exorbitant amount for a car company that made over $100 million US last year.
They have every right to file a lawsuit, but it feels more like an attempt to gain some publicity from the media attention they will receive from taking this legal action.
If you want a refresher on the Top Gear test or you haven't seen it yet, check out the video below.
The maximum amount of damages Tesla expects they can win is £100, 000 ($155, 580 CDN) which is not an exorbitant amount for a car company that made over $100 million US last year.
They have every right to file a lawsuit, but it feels more like an attempt to gain some publicity from the media attention they will receive from taking this legal action.
If you want a refresher on the Top Gear test or you haven't seen it yet, check out the video below.
How dare Top Gear share their opinion of a car!!!!.......o wait...... THATS WHAT THEY DO! HOW DUMB COULD YOU BE TESLA!?!? You put your car on that show not knowing this "negative" review could be given? Well then your straight up DUMB! Good luck taking on the BBC, stupid americans.
ReplyDeleteTesla isn't suing because the review was negative. They are doing it because they feel their car was misrepresented which caused them damages in the way of lost customers.
ReplyDeleteThey say the cars they provided did not dip below 25% battery power but Top Gear led viewers to believe they died. Tesla also claims the breakdowns were staged, and if they were they have a case.
I just don't understand why it took them over two years to get so pissed off about this that they are asking for the amount of money they are. It just doesn't really seem worth it.