Musk says New York Times debacle may have cost Tesla $100 million

Chris Paukert — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:28:00 EST

Filed under: Videos, Hatchback, Earnings/Financials, Tesla, Electric, Luxury

Despite the old chestnut that there's no such thing as bad publicity, there's always a cost incurred - sometimes it's hidden, and sometimes it's front and center. Enigmatic Tesla CEO Elon Musk seems to think his company's now-infamous Model S range dustup with The New York Times is falling squarely into the latter category. According to Musk, fallout from the back-and-forth battle over the newspaper's cold-weather road trip story may have decimated Tesla's stock value by as much as $100 million. Musk believes the report resulted in a lot of cancelled orders, probably costing Tesla "a few hundred" Model S purchases.

According to the report, Tesla's shares have tumbled some 12 percent (going from $39.24 to $34.38) since the report was published. Bloomberg further notes that the company's market capitalization has skidded by around $553 million over that same period. With the company's stock-market value pegged at $3.91 billion, $100m represents a not insignificant chunk of money to Tesla.

So how does Musk feel about embattled Times writer John Broder, whose controversial report he previously called "fake"? During the interview with Bloomberg TV, which you can watch below, Musk opines, "I don't think it should be the end of his career - I don't even think necessarily he should be fired - but I do think he fudged an article." No word has surfaced about any actions taken against Broder after the Times' public editor admitted he did "not especially" exercise "good judgement" in the course of his reporting.

There's a lot of interesting ground covered in the Musk interview, including a discussion on the impact of early adopters on Model S sales, as well as how demand might be affected if the federal $7,500 tax credit were to end, so check it out by scrolling below.

Continue reading Musk says New York Times debacle may have cost Tesla $100 million

Musk says New York Times debacle may have cost Tesla $100 million originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motor Trend tests Tesla Model S, finds 0-60 in 3.9 sec and 100.7 MPGe

Sebastian Blanco — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Tesla, Electric

Tesla has said the highest-end Model S has a range of 300 miles (at 55 miles per hour), but until recently, it's been tremendously difficult for anyone outside the company to verify this number. When the EPA did its testing thing, it came up with a 265-mile range estimate for the version with the 85-kWh battery pack. Tesla is even offering a prize of some sort to anyone who drives a Model S over 400 miles on one charge.

Now, Motor Trend writers has had the chance to spend some time in Tesla CEO Elon Musk's personal Performance Signature Model S to see just how far the electric car can be driven. The result? Your results may vary.

First, the good news. Motor Trend ran a battery of tests on the Model S, and its independent measurements discovered the following ways that their independent testing beat the manufacturer's official numbers:

0-60 time: 3.9 seconds (Tesla official number is 4.4 seconds)
Quarter mile: 12.5 seconds at 110.9 mph (12.6 seconds)
100.7 MPGe during a 200+ mile drive (EPA says 89 MPGe).

So, then, what's the bad news? At roughly 65 mph with no A/C, MT "only" got 238 miles out of the battery. That's less than advertised, but MT offers an important and reasonable take on this issue:

"But the range that matters is really a psychological/perceptual one, not a specific number. Think about it: We drove from Fontana on the eastern edge of the L.A. basin to San Diego and all the way back to L.A.'s Pacific edge on one charge. Five hours of continuous driving. This is a breakthrough accomplishment that ought to knock down the range anxiety barrier that's substantially limited EV sales."

Word.

Motor Trend tests Tesla Model S, finds 0-60 in 3.9 sec and 100.7 MPGe originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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