BBC responds to Tesla's Top Gear complaints
Click the image above to watch Top Gear's review of the Tesla Roadster after the jump
We've been following the roller-coaster ride that Top Gear's recent test of the Tesla Roadster has turned into with interest. Since Clarkson's video review first aired, reactions to the way the Tesla was presented have been mixed, and much of the debate has centered on one particular scene where the Top Gear crew can be seen pushing one of their Tesla test-cars into the garage after apparently running out of juice... except that it never happened. The BBC has released a statement admitting that Clarkson's tester still had power left and the scene was filmed to show what would happen if the battery had actually been depleted. Regardless, "Top Gear stands by the findings in this film and is content that it offers a fair representation of the Tesla's performance on the day it was tested."
So far, we've heard no word on whether offering "a fair representation" includes future reviews of petrol-powered cars that include scenes of each one being pushed into the garage after not running out of gas. Thanks for the tip, Doug!
[Source: Register Hardware]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
matt 8:35PM (12/22/2008)
it was shady of Top Gear to do that...I would imagine the battery would have ran out eventually being how much they were pushing the car. I still think most of the review is legitimate, but it does call their ethics into question.
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Eric Bandholz 9:55PM (12/22/2008)
Correct me if I am wrong, but when they reviewed the GT40 didn't it "run out of gas." (after 10 minutes I found the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74yaIAHwtbo) They do run out of gas @ the 7:25 mark in the vid.
I don't question their ethics. I think the loyal viewers can tell when they are making a point through exaggeration.
Seminole 10:50PM (12/22/2008)
Yeah it was kind of shady of them to pull what they did.
But even with their exaggerations in the Tesla review, what they said in the review of the FCX Clarity was still true. The whole workings of an electric car with having a limited range before stopping and having to be recharged, even if it is only 3.5 hours is still extremely inconvenient. The FCX is really the future.
Noidor 10:56PM (12/22/2008)
But has anyone asked what would have been the total mileage even if Tesla were could to be driven until batteries completely discharged? I doubt it would have been 200, or anywhere close.
saggy 11:40PM (12/22/2008)
Its not that this little "untruth" messed up their results. It just makes me question other little "factoids" I use to gather from episodes of top gear. I mean this was 1 episode with multiple, granted small, yet important, facts removed and glazed over. I wonder what other little facts have been left out of previous episodes. These little facts make big impressions! Sad but I still got love for TG
thomas 1:05AM (12/23/2008)
every car runs out of fuel...... thats what we have gauges for..... apparently sir clarkson forgot how to use one. its a new-fangled electric car after all, it probably has one of those super-state of the art-impossible for an old boy like himself to read types of gauges.
many people have never seen an actual tesla in action. until they've seen it first hand i recomend they stfu.
noz 2:29AM (12/23/2008)
That's because Clarkson is a douchebag and anything that doesn't have an IC engine isn't worthy.
Mike 4:07AM (12/23/2008)
It's not so shady as you might think. Run out of gas in a car and what do you do? Get AAA to bring you some gas, hoof it to the closest fueling station, put your thumb out and wait for a good samaritan to give you a ride to the closest fuel.
Not so simple with an electric like the Tesla. simply running out of charge becomes an ordeal. As you see the charge running low you can't simply stop at the next charging station and throw a few kilowatts in or top it off.
This is the simplest reason why the typical electric car is severely limited. The Volt will be the smartest answer to this problem to date. How it does in the real world remains to be seen, but it really does seem to be a well thought out, no compromises electric car.
noz 1:26PM (12/23/2008)
God forbid people actually use that grey mass between their eyes to have some forethought about what they plan to do when they leave the house.
If you drive an electric car, just like any other car, you use your brain to figure out if you can get to where you want to get to. That's a fact of life regarding ANYTHING we do....so why the added criticizm when it comes to electric or alternative vehicles?
Well...the answer to that can be found right here on these very forums. Just read some of the venemous responses by ignorant and uneducated fools on these forums who will criticize anything that has to do with either hybrids or electrics.
Clarkson just criticizes crap he doesn't like. Sometimes it's justified...but in this case, he's the usual douche he's known for being.
V1S 8:40PM (12/22/2008)
Everyone knows Top Gear is staged -- it's an ENTERTAINMENT show. Did you people think Clarkson actually turned up at that uptight party and drove that Rolls-Royce into the pool? Give me a break
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tankd0g 9:20PM (12/22/2008)
The word you are looking for is "scripted".
Jake 9:22AM (12/23/2008)
Yet, in every other discussion on here someone quotes what they saw on Top Gear as evidence to back up their point.
The show is probably scripted and designed for entertainment, but it seems to be billed as some sort of authority on automobiles.
This is just deliberately misleading and, judging by previous experience, I would expect the BBC to stand behind and defend such things and consider them a "fair representation".
tankd0g 9:14PM (12/22/2008)
Top Gear discovered EXACTLY what I said about the Roadster the first time people started talking about it on ABG. In fact my guess of 50 miles range on a track was was just about dead on. It's incredible to me to see the apologists still coming out of the woodwork here when they car CLEARLY misses the mark. I don't know how many friggin times I read "the ICE is dead" since this car went into prototype. Laughable. Battery power is not there yet and I'm not convinced it ever will be. You can still pack so much more energy into liquid fuels.
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Nick 8:57PM (12/22/2008)
Are you just dumb or are you doing that on purpose?
The Tesla that was tested had plenty of power left when they pushed it into the garage. It was staged, do you understand staged? In other words the Top Gear show is bs, they make it up, its not serious, just stop believing everything you see.
tankd0g 9:13PM (12/22/2008)
Are you stupid or what? You think if they didn't show anyone pushing the car that would change the fact that you need a flatbed truck to come get it after it's dead? Do you understand that the math says that 55 miles is about the range of that car on that track? Do you understand that the car goes dead before the battery even reaches 0% because otherwise it would be irreparably damaged? Strike that, I doubt you understand any of what I just said.
Max 9:28PM (12/22/2008)
tankdog, you're right, the Tesla's range is drastically reduced when driven aggressively, but that's true for a gas powered car too. If you floor an Elise it will get 1/2 the gas mileage it usually gets. Other tests have verified the Tesla roadster's range as it is advertised.
If the battery approaches 0% charge it would be damaged, but that is not the point here. The test car's batteries were still charged at around 25%...which is not going to 'irreparably damage' it.
tankd0g 9:37PM (12/22/2008)
What's your point Max? If the car is dead, it's dead. No gasoline car needs a flat bed truck when it runs out of gas. Period. If you owned an Elise you could drive from England to the Nurburgring and tool around for 50 laps a day easy, in a Telsa. If you made it off the island to begin with, and spend a week driving it to Germany, you could do 3 laps. 4 if you don't mind getting stuck on the far side of the track while you wait for the truck. What part of that appeals to you as a car enthusiast?
why not the LS2LS7? 10:30PM (12/22/2008)
tankd0g:
It's 360 miles (driven, 407 total) from London, UK to Nurburg, Germany. An Elise has an 8 gallon tank. You cannot drive from London (or even Folkstone, the entrance to the Eurotunnel) to the N-Ring and then take 50 laps (that's what, 1000 miles?) on a single tank of gas.
I guess you mean with fill-ups, which are impractical in the Tesla. But even with fill-ups, it's 7 hours from London to the N-Ring, and then you're planning on doing 500 minutes (6 hours) on the Ring there? I guess it's possible, but you're gonna be really tired.
I have to say my estimate of how long the Tesla would go on the track was low. I figured 30-40 miles. Perhaps this is because the car dials itself back after a lap or two (another problem with the car) and that saves power?
why not the LS2LS7? 10:34PM (12/22/2008)
One more thing, I don't know where this idea that the pack will be greatly damaged if it runs down comes from. Yes, it's not good to discharge it that far. But the damage doing so would still be very small. A laptop battery (which Tesla uses) can be completely discharged and charged about 300 times and still only lose 15% of its capacity. Now, 15% is a lot, I'll admit. But if you only discharge it all the way once, it's not going to cause any noticeable damage. Furthermore, even discharging it down to 40% doesn't mean you aren't damaging the pack.
All in all, you'd be pretty foolish to push a Tesla when you could drive it. Even if it's below 10% already.
Honestly, the BBC does have something to be ashamed of here. Not a huge shame, but a small one.
jim 8:51PM (12/22/2008)
It's funny they emphasized the price of the car but didn't even mention the price of their precious hydrogen car.
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