Tesla Roadster Review Controversy
During the twelfth series of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson’s review of the Tesla Roadster courted controversy after he claimed that the car had run out after eighty-eight kilometres, would take sixteen hours to recharge, and that the car brakes had failed.
Incident
Clarkson’s scathing review of the Tesla Roadster aired during the seventh episode of the twelfth series of Top Gear. In the item, the two Roadsters that were provided by Tesla were depicted as having broken down or run out of charge, eventually both at the same time. Footage was also shown of the Teslas needing to be pushed into a garage for repairs or recharging during the review. Clarkson stated that the range of the roadster was a mere fifty-five miles and that it would take more than sixteen hours to recharge fully.
Response
Lawsuit
Tesla attempted to sue the BBC for libel in March, 2011. The courts ruled in favour of the BBC, saying that no viewer of the show would be likely to reasonably compare the Roadster’s performance on the show with its performance in the real world. The courts threw out Tesla’s remaining malicious falsehoods claims against the BBC at the end of October, 2011. Tesla’s appeal was eventually ruled against in 2013, with the courts deciding that the film “had not damaged Tesla’s reputation”.