Naming a low performance car after a brilliant scientist doesn't make it overcome it's shortcomings. The episode was fair as I saw it. ♘

Tesla Sues ‘Top Gear’ for Libel - Hannah Elliott - De Luxe - Forbes

Tesla Sues ‘Top Gear’ for Libel

Mar. 30 2011 Hannah Elliott

[Excerpts, read the article a above link.]

Tesla Motors has filed a claim suing the BBC television program “Top Gear” for libel and malicious falsehood.

The Silicon Valley, Calif.-based automotive company says in the claim that the Top Gear review of its Tesla Roadster “contained lies and misinformation about the Roadster’s performance, behaviour and reliability.” Tesla says it is taking legal action after attempts to contact the BBC went ignored....

Top Gear has denied* any wrongdoing and plans to “vigorously” defend the claim.

Here is the gist of the claim, taken from Tesla documentation:

In the episode, Tesla Roadsters are depicted as suffering several critical “breakdowns” during track driving. Host Jeremy Clarkson concludes the episode by saying that the Roadster doesn’t work.

Specifically, Top Gear misrepresented that:

1.The Roadster ran out of charge and had to be pushed into the Top Gear hangar by 4 men.
2.The Roadster’s true range is only 55 miles per charge (not 211).
3.One Roadster’s motor overheated and was completely immobilized as a result.
4.The other Roadster’s brakes were broken, rendering the car undriveable.
5.That neither of the two Roadsters provided to Top Gear was available for test driving due to these problems.

The breakdowns were staged and the statements are untrue. Yet the programme’s lies are repeatedly and consistently re-broadcast to hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide on BBC television and web sites, and on other TV channels via syndication; the show is available on the internet, and is for sale on Top Gear DVD’s around the world.

Word so far is that Tesla is asking in the suit for Top Gear to stop rebroadcasting the episode and to change its review.

Follow me on Twitter: @HannahElliott

*BBC denies rigging Top Gear Tesla Roadster car race

March 30, 2011

The BBC is being sued by the makers of the electric sports car, the Tesla Roadster, over claims a race on Top Gear was rigged.

Tesla Motors claims the test set up by Jeremy Clarkson on a 2008 edition of the show was rigged to make it look like the Tesla ran out of power when racing a petrol powered Lotus.

The Tesla Roadster is the world's fastest production electric car.

A Top Gear spokesman said the BBC would be "vigorously defending" the claim.

On the programme Jeremy Clarkson claimed: "Although Tesla say it'll do 200 miles, we worked out that on our track it would run out after just 55 miles."

'Driven aggressively'

But in a statement on its website, Tesla said the Roadster's miles per charge had been certified at 211 miles by a third party European Union (EU) test.

It argued that because the car was "driven aggressively" on Top Gear the charge didn't last as long, but that if driven "mindfully" charges could last for 313 miles.

The statement also disagreed with several other elements of the show.

A Top Gear spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that we have received notification that Tesla have issued proceedings against the BBC.

"The BBC stands by the programme and will be vigorously defending this claim."

Did Tesla say "driven mindfully," or did they mean 'minimally.'