- That's exactly why Tesla has to put the Times story behind it as fast as possible. I implore Musk: release the full logs and be done. Focus instead on putting more reviewers behind the wheel of a Model S. Don't leave it to one or two lucky journalists; flood the market with reviews. Accept that one or two might have bad experiences; that's okay. Let them. What matters is making it appear that the Model S is everywhere, on every road, in every publication; not unimpeachable, just impossible to ignore.
In the age of the electron, what really matters — what wins every time — is opinion in aggregate.
Biased article. I'm going to choose to believe one of the foremost innovators of our time over someone who had a vested interest in manufacturing a story. It sounds to me like the Model S merely requires a semblance of human intelligence to drive, which is not remotely surprising. Here is a reddit AMA by a Tesla owner which is a lot more objective than the so-called journalism in the article above. \\ All that said, you're right that Musk needs to bury this story. Best way to do that is to offer a whole bunch more test drives to other newspapermen, bloggers, and everything in between.
I just looked at the post and realized that I had not "quoted" the text I provided. That was directly from the article, I hadn't written it to be clear. I would tend to agree with Musk on this too. The guy seems far too savvy to "pick a fight" when he doesn't know for certain he is in the right. There is a guy a few houses down that just got a model "S". It arrived on a large truck carrying it directly to his home. I don't know the guy, but now I want to introduce myself just so I can check out his ride :)
Oh, those quotes makes some difference. It does seem odd to me that he is "reticent" to release full details; why'd he pick the fight? He knew it would come to that eventually. The Times isn't just going to publish a full retraction without a lot of back-and-forth.
The Tesla is an interesting display of what an electric car can be, but it really isn't the electric car we have been waiting for. Like others it is more of a "look at me" electric, a status symbol more than an everyday commuter. Also what happens when the batteries loose their ability to hold a charge after 10 years or so? When it is left in the cold or extreme heat daily? Batteries don't like extreme temperatures and it can shorten the life of the batteries. It is a step in the right direction, and good for working out kinks. If you expect the electric car to be everything a gas car will be you are looking for the wrong car, as the new york times failed to realize. I like the idea of electric cars but until they can match, or approach, the reliability, ease of use, and price, of the average gas guzzler they wont get a foothold in the market.
You would be surprised at how dumb "real owners" of cars are. In my former life as a engineer at DaimlerChrysler part of my job was doing warranty inspections on engines that had failed. You could tell the problem just my checking the mileage of the engine without even looking at it. One in a bunch was a factory problem, which would fail around <1000 miles. The overwhelming majority failed around 25,000, and resulted from the owner never changing the oil. Just be cause a car is expensive doesn't mean the purchaser is knowledgeable or even has common sense. The sad part of engineering is that you have to assume that your average customer is of below average intelligence.
I don't doubt this, at all. I would suppose that the consumer of a Model S might be a bit more savvy regarding such things. It's a niche car that, for the most part, will be purchased by enthusiasts at this point. Wouldn't you agree?
I don't know. If you go to LA, you regularly see young women (who obviously can be car enthusiasts, but are also generally not know to be very knowledgeable owners; sorry to be a sexist pig, but like I said, I've seen a lot of unnecessary failures) driving cars like the M6 or the RS5, cars that are similar in price range and performance. Style is the most important thing to many consumers. For this class of cars you will always have the buyers that love them to death, but that's not who the idiot proof features are designed for.
If you are serious enough to spend that kind of money on that type of car, you are serious enough to read the manual and know how to properly care for it. I don't buy the "perfect human" argument either. I don't think it's asking for the "perfect human" to use it, just a thoughtful one.