SHOOT, Then Ask Questions? Tesla Publicly Shames Journalist Then Fixes Its Self-Inflicted Mess…

In recent weeks, the electric vehicle manufacturer everyone loves to bandwagon has come under scrutiny. Again. Yes, that would be Tesla. 

When the company isn’t ringing the not-so-physical cash register by racking up deposits on a concept car, the California-based EV producer is taking gasoline and pouring it on journalist’s heads who question the legitimacy of their product. One such example happened last week after a story was written by The Daily Kanban’s Ed Niedermeyer. 

The 30,000-foot perspective is that there’s been a customer report of a suspension that wore prematurely. When the Tesla service center said that it would pay half of the cost of the $3,000+ repair it made the owner sign a Goodwill Agreement that had suspect language in it.

When Niedermeyer made this issue known, Tesla took issue with it and issued a press release that speculated Niedermeyer was purposely writing negative news to take advantage of a TSLA’s equity price swings. Never mind that a significant portion of the equity market is betting against Tesla. 

So, here’s the funny thing. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the contract’s wording was “troublesome,” and Tesla has modified the wording. Isn’t that just a little interesting?

**Read the FULL story about Tesla’s shenanigans by clicking “Read Article,” below!

POSITVT - 6/18/2016 12:37:48 AM

+5 Boost

Certainly, not everyone agrees with your spin on this story.

POSITVT - 6/18/2016 12:40:20 AM

+4 Boost

More than any other automaker, Tesla does the "right thing", especially regarding safety.

NHTSA clears Tesla in suspension inquiry, finds 93% of complaints fraudulent
http://www.teslacentral.com/nhtsa-clears-tesla-suspension-inquiry-finds-93-complaints-fraudulent

Agent00R - 6/18/2016 12:54:14 PM

-1 Boost

Did you read the link you sent?

It's all according to Elon Musk. Click and read the link above to the story I am referencing...

Weapon - 6/18/2016 1:18:09 AM

+4 Boost

Way to spin a story. But you forgot to mention a few MAJOR facts. Niedermeyer was LYING about the suspension issue. (According to the NHTSA there was no suspension issue)

The owner of the Model S who talked to Niedermeyer and reported to the NHTSA in the first place also said he did not think the Goodwill agreement prevented him from reporting any issues. His only concern is if some owners might misinterpret the agreement to mean that (which so far no evidence any owner did).

So The Daily Kanban’s Ed Niedermeyer got effectively caught for lying on 2 occasions. Both of which he could have avoided if he did his due diligence investigating instead of being egged on by a conspiracy theorist Keef.

Agent00R, AutioSpies made a mistake, admit so, report the facts and move on. Just because you defended his lying does not mean you should spin the story and hurt your own credibility further. Accept and move on.

Agent00R - 6/18/2016 12:56:39 PM

-1 Boost

You didn't read the attached story, either.

FYI:

"But it’s not. NHTSA may not need any more data from Tesla but it has not confirmed anything other than it is looking into the matter. It is still looking into it. It may take weeks. It may tell Tesla that it looks like it installed one bad part and there doesn’t seem to be a problem. It may tell Tesla that the suspension was poorly engineered and the company should recall every Model S. You can bet every Bitcoin in your pocket that Tesla already knows how many bad ball joints it has repaired. It could release that data today."

Weapon - 6/18/2016 3:04:26 PM

+2 Boost

@Agent00R - That is based on outdated info from Thursday's response. By Friday the NHTSA was done and found no issue.

Agent00R - 6/18/2016 5:32:08 PM

0 Boost

@Weapon

I will stand corrected when I read something in print that backs that up. Some quick Googling brought up nothing from NHTSA or Bryan Thomas from yesterday saying "no issue" and NHTSA is done looking into this matter.

MDarringer - 6/18/2016 10:07:55 AM

-3 Boost

Musk has psychological issues and the tone of his company's responses not only reflects that. It's bad business. By prematurely saying that nothing is wrong and that there are no issues, Musk--in essence--is saying that customers are liars. The NHTSA did not say there was no issue. They said they needed no more data for their investigation. Huge difference.

POSITIVT and Weapon need to cash their fanboy checks--assuming they ever arrive--before Tesla implodes.

Cue the Tesla kneeling mouth whores....

Weapon - 6/18/2016 11:47:38 AM

+3 Boost

Musk is not prematurely saying nothing is wrong, pretty sure he knows the issues in his company. He also never called any of his customers a liar.

Also, the NHTSA did say there are no issues according to Bloomberg interview with the NHTSA.

"NHTSA is reviewing the model’s suspension as a routine matter and the company has fully cooperated with requests for information, said Bryan Thomas, the agency’s spokesman. No safety issue has been identified, he said."

Agent00R - 6/18/2016 1:00:47 PM

-1 Boost

You're neglecting that NHTSA looking into the matter is ongoing...

Weapon - 6/18/2016 3:01:36 PM

+2 Boost

@Agent00R - So you are accusing Bryan Thomas, the NHTSA spokesman of lying?

The confusion comes that on Thursday they were still looking into things, by Friday they were finished and found no issue. So NHTSA's official response is "no issues".

Agent00R - 6/18/2016 5:34:04 PM

0 Boost

If that's the quote you want to use, you're not reading correctly.

He says that they're reviewing. Key is the "ING," which means it is ongoing.

No safety issue has been identified...YET. They are still looking into it and it may turn up something or NOTHING!

quizz - 6/20/2016 11:50:05 AM

+1 Boost

Currently, if GAAP standards are applied to the Model S production, Tesla is losing about $15,000 per vehicle. Add in carbon credits, tax credits, subsidies and whatever else and it BARELY breaks even. The fact of the matter is that Tesla's long game focuses on battery technology for the home as well as a network of super-charging stations and their related technologies. Its car production model is NOT sustainable because it is not economically viable, however, it will have served its purpose: popularize the acceptance of EV technology for mass adoption so that when GM, Ford, Toyota and everybody else produces affordable EV cars, Tesla will be ready to sell the "picks, shovels and overalls" to support this market segment. In the meantime it's racking up as many patents as possible so that when it spins-off (or shuts down) car manufacturing, it will have a source of revenue from royalty and licensing agreements.