As Twitchy reported, Tesla Motors co-founder Elon Musk took to Twitter to dispute John Broder’s account of his Model S running out of charge during a mileage test, leaving him stranded and in need of a tow. Musk called the story in the New York Times “fake” and said he had the car’s logs to prove it, further suggesting that Broder’s bias against electric cars led him to deliberately sabotage the test.
Broder doesn’t tweet often, but he made sure Twitter was aware of his response to Musk’s allegations. In short, he stands by his story, saying that a bitterly cold night sapped the battery, although he does admit to driving at 75 miles per hour for a stretch rather than the recommended 65. Technically, it does look like Broder broke the rules, but to be honest, there were a lot of rules.
Several of his colleagues at the New York Times have declared their membership on Team Broder.
I don't know @elonmusk. I DO know @jbroderNYT. I trust every word of his #Tesla Model S review. http://t.co/KAOnsYfR
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) February 12, 2013
Don't know E. Musk, but I know John Broder, & he doesn't make stuff up. MT @NYTBroder: Earlier response to @elonmusk:http://t.co/QKMXQhbz.
— Matt Bai (@mattbai) February 14, 2013
I need help adjudicating Musk vs Broder. My sympathies lie initially with the journalist over the worldclass schmuck.
— Jesse Eisinger (@eisingerj) February 14, 2013
I score this for Broder over Elon Musk, King Schmuck: http://t.co/g78JZRFU Data can mislead, @EpicureanDeal
— Jesse Eisinger (@eisingerj) February 14, 2013
Broder says he spoke to Musk before his review went online, and Musk suggested that charging stations should be closer together to account for weather conditions and traffic.
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Didn't Musk tell Broder charging stations should have been 140 miles apart not 200 because of traffic & temp extremes? http://t.co/VlEfZqSQ
— Jack Shafer (@jackshafer) February 14, 2013
Musk, on the other hand, has posted extensive annotated data logs and graphs on his blog. Richard Dawkins, most famous for not believing in God, is a true believer in the Model S.
Elon Musk exposes a disgraceful example of dishonest journalism about the magnificent Tesla electric car.http://t.co/h8LmW66H
— Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) February 14, 2013
https://twitter.com/JeffreyGoldberg/status/302063396856156160
Great refute by @ElonMusk to Broder's NYT article. Sad how many NYT apologists there are. NYT has agendas too!! http://t.co/YPfFeXkr
— Ana Bozovic (@Ana_Global) February 14, 2013
We’re not about to defend the New York Times against charges of bias, but it is strange to see an environmental reporter charged with deliberately making an electric car look bad.
the only way to settle this NYT/Tesla spat is to send Elon Musk & John Broder on an epic cross-country roadtrip in a Model S together
— Scott Nagy (@visageofscott) February 14, 2013
* * *
Update:
Broder has posted his official response to Musk’s data logs and refutes Musk’s claims point-by-point.
My response to @elonmusk has just been posted: http://t.co/bglC2fGY.
— John Broder (@jbrodernyt) February 14, 2013
For example, Broder says the unexpected detour was not an attempt to drain the batter but to find a charger.
Mr. Straubel [Tesla’s chief technology officer] said Tesla did not store data on exact locations where their cars were driven because of privacy concerns, although Tesla seemed to know that I had driven six-tenths of a mile “in a tiny 100-space parking lot.” While Mr. Musk has accused me of doing this to drain the battery, I was in fact driving around the Milford service plaza on Interstate 95, in the dark, trying to find the unlighted and poorly marked Tesla Supercharger. He did not share that data, which Tesla has now posted online, with me at the time.
https://twitter.com/pkedrosky/status/302198459832885248
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