Court throws out Tesla lawsuit over 'Top Gear' episode
LONDON (AP) - Britain's Court of Appeal on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit against the BBC by electric car maker Tesla Motors over a program that criticized its Roadster vehicle.
The company sued the broadcaster for libel over a 2008 episode of the popular "Top Gear" show.
Host Jeremy Clarkson claimed the car would only run for 55 miles (88 kilometers) between charges, far less than billed. He called the car "an astonishing technical achievement ... It's just a shame that in the real world it doesn't seem to work."
Palo Alto, California-based Tesla lost a claim before the High Court in 2011 but was given permission to appeal.
Three judges dismissed the appeal on Tuesday, saying they were not persuaded that "the case which Tesla seeks to make ... has any real prospect of success."
Irreverent automotive show "Top Gear" is one of the BBC's most popular programs in Britain and abroad. Clarkson, its best-known host, is renowned for his jokey machismo and provocative opinions. In 2011, he angered unions by saying that striking public sector workers should be shot. The same year, the BBC apologized to Mexico's ambassador after Clarkson and his co-hosts described Mexicans as lazy and oafish.
Tesla has recently been embroiled in a spat with the New York Times over an article claiming its Model S electric sedan ran out of power during a road trip and had to be towed to a recharging station. Tesla CEO Elon Musk challenged the story.
The company sued the broadcaster for libel over a 2008 episode of the popular "Top Gear" show.
Host Jeremy Clarkson claimed the car would only run for 55 miles (88 kilometers) between charges, far less than billed. He called the car "an astonishing technical achievement ... It's just a shame that in the real world it doesn't seem to work."
Palo Alto, California-based Tesla lost a claim before the High Court in 2011 but was given permission to appeal.
Three judges dismissed the appeal on Tuesday, saying they were not persuaded that "the case which Tesla seeks to make ... has any real prospect of success."
Irreverent automotive show "Top Gear" is one of the BBC's most popular programs in Britain and abroad. Clarkson, its best-known host, is renowned for his jokey machismo and provocative opinions. In 2011, he angered unions by saying that striking public sector workers should be shot. The same year, the BBC apologized to Mexico's ambassador after Clarkson and his co-hosts described Mexicans as lazy and oafish.
Tesla has recently been embroiled in a spat with the New York Times over an article claiming its Model S electric sedan ran out of power during a road trip and had to be towed to a recharging station. Tesla CEO Elon Musk challenged the story.
After watching the vid, I thought Jeremy was quite nice and complimentary compared to some other reviews of his I've seen.Â
Elon just needs to stop being such a crybaby
@kramr They didn't need to have the car reviewed on the show, either, but most manufacturers seem to want to have them reviewed (of course, with positive reviews only).  Instead, manufacturers should address the concerns brought up by these guys who are industry experts (at least more so than the lay person).
Electric cars are a scam. With the current technology they are not ready for prime time and are very expensive to buy and to own.
Here is a web site that shows the differences of electric and gas as far as TCO.
http://www.ccds.charlotte.nc.us/~jarrett/EV/cost.php
As more people purchase electric vehicles, the technology will decrease. In the early days of the Toyota Prius, Toyota was losing substantial amounts of money trying to keep the cost somewhat reasonable, and as a result, hybrid cars have seen the prices decrease as the technology becomes more affordable. Someone has to pay for the high cost guinnea pigs to advance the cause.
@pdxdÂ
And the folks that are paying for the high cost of these vehicles is you and me to the tune of $2500 to $7500 per car PLUS we get to pay for the FREE charging stations when we pay our electric bills.
Because the government subsidizes these cars they have really poor resale value with up to $10,000 reduction in value in the first 10 minutes of ownership.
With the cost replacing the battery at about $10,000 for the nicer vehicles that means that the resale value of the car will drop significantly in another 4 years as it gets closer to the time of replacement.
They are very expensive to buy, subsidize, and operate.
@RalphCramden Well ralph if your car only uses only 15 gallons a month but mine uses 35 or more.
Total cost of$1,579 per yeay that's just gas...not $766.00 as in your example..
@uknow2
I didn't list an example. That is the stock numbers that are on the site when everyone comes to the site.
It's not all that surprising that you didn't catch that.
Shocking news.
great news.....