Tesla has torn into the New York Times review of its Model S electric car, using systems logs showing charge and recharge status, driving style, cabin settings and more to undermine claims the EV is unreliable. In a detailed run-down of the stats gathered by the Model S onboard computer something Tesla says it always does carefully on media drives, after UK car show Top Gear made similar reliability claims about a previous model, in a case which ended up in the courtroom - Tesla CEO Elon Musk argues that NYT reviewer John Broder was prejudiced against electric cars from the start, and did as much as possible to portray the Model S as unfit for the road.
For instance, the onboard logs showing what charge the Model S had at points of the journey, and when Broder decided to recharge, indicate he took the car off the power connection earlier than stated in the original review. The final leg of his trip was 61 miles and yet he disconnected the charge cable when the range display stated 32 miles Musk argues. He did so expressly against the advice of Tesla personnel and in obvious violation of common sense.
Meanwhile, some of Broders claims about how he tried to minimize power consumption are also challenged. Musk points to the typical speeds driven at 65 to 85 mph and the average cabin temperature of 72F for the duration of the test, and the fact that the reviewer also actively turned the heating up when charge was getting low.
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