Tesla sues Top Gear for Clarkson ‘lies’
Not happy with the way it was presented on hit BBC show
Mexicans, lorry drivers and most sane people have at some time been upset by Jeremy Clarkson, but this time he’s gone and annoyed Tesla. The Electric supercar maker is so incensed that by Clarkson’s comments that it’s now suing the BBC.
In the review of the car in an episode originally broadcast in December 2008, Top Gear showed the Tesla in a garage after breaking down and gave the impression that the “Roadster’s true range is only 55 miles per charge (not 211)”. The segment ended with four men pushing the car back into the hangar after it apparently ran out of juice on the test track with Jeremy Clarkson saying, “It’s just a shame that in the real world it absolutely doesn’t work.”
While Tesla was annoyed at the time, it’s decided to sue after the BBC has continued to broadcast the show around the world, sell it on DVD and even has it to watch on the Top Gear website.
In the custom built Tesla Vs. Top Gear the supercar maker wants to put its side of the story forwards. For those that enjoy reading pages of legalese, there’s even a full download of the claim form in PDF format.
The Tesla website states that, “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.”
It says that all it wants is the BBC to stop broadcasting this episode and put the record straight. According to the company the real story is that you can drive 211 miles on a charge, accelerate from 0-60mph in 3.7 seconds and get by without any expensive servicing.