VIDEO: Letterman meet Musk, Musk meet Letterman. Got it? Good. Let's all hate on Chevrolet's Volt
Click on the image above to watch the video
Elon Musk brought out the Tesla Model S for its big New York debut last night, and Late Night talk show host David Letterman got a real "charge" out of it. Musk appeared on the Late Show and it was kind of strange to watch. Letterman had some kind of throat ailment that left his voice sounding remarkably like Bob Lutz. In spite of that, Dave's trademark style left him showing little sympathy for any automakers when discussing why after more than 100 years no one has really developed the electric car.
Dave didn't spare any kind words for efforts to develop hydrogen fuel cell technology, but he really ripped into General Motors and its baby, the Chevrolet Volt. Apparently the idea of being able to go a mere 40 miles on a charge is not appealing to him, and to his discredit, he didn't bother to mention the range extender. For his part, Musk does nothing to correct this oversight.
Check out the video after the jump for as long as it stays live on YouTube.
[Source: YouTube]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Jim R 1:15PM (4/30/2009)
Well of COURSE Musk isn't going to stop Letterman. Dave's basically doing his PR for him, why would he stop him?
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firstyes! 1:15PM (4/30/2009)
don't stop get it get it, 2 days 2 firsts
maybe because the price will suck and gm has reliability issues with a regular car.
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FSM 1:27PM (4/30/2009)
I didn't think 9 years olds read autoblog
Chris 5:47PM (4/30/2009)
@FSM It would appear at least one does ;)
Bob-omb 1:18PM (4/30/2009)
Okay. A late-night host ragged on GM. This is news?
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The Luigiian 1:21PM (4/30/2009)
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/30/jay-leno-says-goodbye-to-pontiac/
zamafir 1:37PM (4/30/2009)
what's news is that none of us were invited to the vaporware hate party, what's funny is, it's vapor hating on vapor.
Sea Urchin 1:39PM (4/30/2009)
Zama, Tesla sells, Volt is the vapor as of now.
zamafir 1:55PM (4/30/2009)
Sea Urchin, I've ridden in the Tesla (and driven the T-Zero), however, the Sedan does NOT sell, and is vapor at current, just like the volt.
alex 2:23PM (4/30/2009)
Jesus tap dancing christ can you STOP calling the Volt vaporware? What makes it vaporware? Is it that it's not on sale yet? If so, that makes the new Prius vaporware. and it makes the lexus hs 250h vaporware. and it makes the new subaru legacy vaporware. etc, etc, etc.
It's not vaporware until you start seeing delays and missed dates! GM said they were going to have battery packs ready for testing at certain date. done. they said they'd have mules running at a certain date. done. they said they'll begin production at the end of next year... well we have to wait until then to see if they've missed that date, now don't we? so far they've hit every date they've set, so there is no reason to call it vaporware!
Clay Garland 10:08PM (5/01/2009)
At least Leno's got respect for carmakers and might just know a thing or two. Dave just kisses the bums of his guests.
Alex 1:20PM (4/30/2009)
Late night shows are strictly for entertainment. No one should expect Letterman to have all the facts straight, all he wants to do is entertain his audience. Musk is certainly not going to step in and correct any misrepresentations on behalf of GM.
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John 1:36PM (4/30/2009)
"No one should expect Letterman to have all the facts straight, all he wants to do is entertain his audience."
Unfortunately, many people listen to celebrities, misguided thinking and all, and take their word as the gospel. Before you know it, perception becomes reality.
Jei 2:01PM (4/30/2009)
Believe it or not. A lot of "would-be & financially capable" consumers were watching Dave and Musk last night. And for many of them, it was probably the 1st time they had ever heard of the Tesla or even the Chevy Volt.
It took a bunch of folks on these fan sites to really understand the mechanics around the plug-in electric vehicle. And that they are vastly different from the "run-of-the-mill" Prius hybrid systems we see almost daily.
For the uninformed (probably 80% of potential car buyers), last nights show was a deep education into what's next in the "green movement".
DesiAuto 2:14PM (4/30/2009)
I agree.
David letterman
Rush limbaugh
Howard stern
etc.
These people should not be taken seriously ... you can't watch/listen them for information. You watch/listen them for entertainment.
Sea Urchin 2:55PM (4/30/2009)
@ DesiAuto
Agree 100%
Add to the list
Oberman,
Modon (whatever her name is)
Chris Mathews
NPR
PBS
BBC
and a few other hacks.
Rev 4:21PM (4/30/2009)
"Unfortunately, many people listen to celebrities, misguided thinking and all, and take their word as the gospel. Before you know it, perception becomes reality."
People do the same things with politicians and preachers. Somebody needs to invent a good B.S. detector...
Leo23 8:19PM (4/30/2009)
@Rev: Isn't perception always reality? (Good thing they don't have that detector yet, no?)
But, that's not the point. Yesterday's shows was hilarious because of his voice and his Tesla electrocution. Oh, and Jen Garner all bruised up but looking pretty as ever.
That's still not the point.
OK, OT: Dave's job is to poke fun at things that are worth making fun of, and also to try and take innocent things out of context so they become funny. And anyway, 40MPG from the Volt is not that big an achievement to to be feeling bad about getting roasted on a 'late-night talkshow', of all things. In comparison, all the hosts are making swine flu jokes too, and people are dying from it.
As for Musk, he was just awkward. Shouldn't people representing the electric cars and all be passionate and persuasive whenever they open their mouth on the topic?
Erik 1:20PM (4/30/2009)
I don't know who's a bigger tool, Musk or Letterman.
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dukeisduke 1:22PM (4/30/2009)
Both.