2012 Tesla Model S
Enlarge PhotoGolly.
Turns out nothing ignites the Internet quite like a rapid-fire online spat between Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and The New York Times, the Grey Lady of establishment journalism.
Like many such controversies, common ground turns out to be easier to find than you might think: It's a fact that electric-car range falls in colder temperatures.
The details, however, show claims in the Times article are contradicted by the data logs of the Tesla Model S in question--raising disturbing questions about the accuracy of a widely-read article in one of the nation's premier newspapers.
Let's recap.
Winter trip falls short
It all started with a piece in last Sunday's Times with the ominous title Stalled Out on Tesla's Electric Highway. It was written by John Broder, who reports on energy and the environment for the paper.
He described his attempt to drive a Tesla Model S all-electric luxury sport sedan from Washington, D.C., to Boston, using the new SuperCharger network of DC fast-charging stations now being rolled out by Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA].
Spoiler alert: He didn't make it.
He didn't much enjoy the drive either.
Read the article for details, and don't miss the snazzy map graphic that accompanies it.
Ironically, the article was proposed to the Times by Musk himself because he'd liked its earlier long-distance Model S drive report, Charging Ahead on an Electric Highway, which covered a 531-mile journey from Lake Tahoe to Los Angeles last September.
Musk tweets back (of course)
Musk wasn't nearly so fond of Broder's article.
Monday he fired out three tweets (1, 2, and 3) calling the article "fake," saying Broder didn't fully recharge the battery pack and that he took a "long detour" he hadn't written about.
'Revenge of the Electric Car' premiere: Elon Musk arrives in a Tesla Roadster
Enlarge PhotoMusk promised a blog post from Tesla Motors, with further details from the car's data log, would be "coming soon." Data logging, he noted, has to be approved by customers, but it's always turned on for journalists.
Tesla also plans, Musk said on Monday, to invite other journalists to replicate the trip.
Media piled on
Later Monday, Musk tweeted a more conciliatory message, saying he was "not against [The New York Times] in general" and that the paper was "usually fair," linking to its September piece on the California drive.
By the end of Monday, Musk had appeared on CNBC calling the article "unreasonable," and New York magazine had noted the drop in Tesla Motors stock price.
Even The Atlantic--that bastion of the liberal East Coast chattering-class media elite--criticized Musk's critiques of the article, saying they weren't helping Tesla.
Author responds
Then, Tuesday afternoon, Broder published a lengthy post on the Times Wheels blog in which he responded to Musk's tweeted claims.
2012 Tesla Model S
Enlarge PhotoHe noted that the car's dash display had said "Charging Complete" at a pack capacity of 90 percent, and that he wasn't told he should also switch to "Max Range" setting and wait another half-hour or so to add the last 10 percent of capacity--which shortens battery life.
To maximize battery life, the Tesla limits recharging to 80 or 90 percent of total pack capacity (reducing range) unless the driver specifically directs it to do otherwise. The "Max Range" setting provides the highest possible range for road trips and/or cold temperatures.
Broder claims his "long detour" was a brief stop in Manhattan that added just 2 miles to total distance.
The real crux of the problem came from an overnight cold soak at a hotel stop in Groton, Connecticut, where he awoke to 10-degree temperatures.
Broder parked the Model S with 90 miles remaining, and awoke to find it showing 25 miles--which fell to 19 miles after he conditioned the battery for 30 minutes at the direction of a Tesla employee.
Things degenerated from there.
Not plugged in overnight
"Virtually everyone says that I should have plugged in the car overnight in Connecticut, particularly given the cold temperature," Broder writes in his followup.
Plugging in the car overnight, even on 110-Volt power, lets the Tesla Model S use grid power to warm its battery pack, keeping it at a temperature that maximizes range.
He then defends his decision not to do so by noting that he was supposed to be testing the SuperCharger network--and that the car showed sufficient range to return to the nearest SuperCharger location.
2012 Tesla Model S
Enlarge Photo"This evaluation was intended to demonstrate [the Model S's] practicality as a 'normal use,' no-compromise car, as Tesla markets it," he continues.
And he sneers at the idea that Model S buyers will all be "electric-car acolytes who will plug in at every Walmart stop," if Tesla expects to be a "mass-market automaker."
We find that line of reasoning a little disingenuous with the Tesla Model S on sale less than a year.
Electric cars are still an almost unknown quantity among mass-market buyers--who generally don't look at luxury sport sedans whose prices start at $59,900 and can reach $100,000 anyhow.
Data logs, graphs, maps, and annotations
Late last night, the Tesla Motors post, A Most Peculiar Test Drive, finally appeared with Musk's name as author--scooped merely minutes beforehand by the Wired Autopia blog.
Have an opinion?Join the conversation!
John Briggs Posted: 2/14/2013 1:11pm UTC
John Briggs Posted: 2/14/2013 1:12pm UTC
Brian Thomas Posted: 2/14/2013 1:23pm UTC
The New York Times, on the other hand, has no satire defence. John is wonderfully fair and balanced here.
I've seen enough to call a foul play already.
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 5:44am UTC
Chris O Posted: 2/14/2013 7:49pm UTC
http://www.teslamotors.com/sites/default/files/blog_images/articlemap0.jpg
James Lincoln Posted: 2/14/2013 11:01pm UTC
Gavin Shoebridge Posted: 2/14/2013 1:45pm UTC
Michael Thwaite Posted: 2/14/2013 2:17pm UTC
Once again though - the real headline is, as John eludes - the Model S is fast, smooth, efficient and can make the journey from Washington to Boston
John Voelcker Posted: 2/14/2013 3:31pm UTC
robok2 Posted: 2/15/2013 4:36pm UTC
Jeff Hre Posted: 2/16/2013 8:07am UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/16/2013 5:41pm UTC
John Voelcker Posted: 2/16/2013 6:46pm UTC
Please try in future to write in complete sentences; it will make it much easier to understand what you're trying to say. I don't want to start deleting comments, but five of your 13 comments have "BRICK" in capital letters.
Unless you can connect the "bricking" problem in the previous model of Tesla to the topic of this article, please consider your comments. Thank you in advance.
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 1:44am UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 2:06am UTC
Battery depletion has a host of variables affecting how long and under what conditions any stack of batteries designed for a laptop PC lasts. My apple lithium battery did what all lithium laptop batteries will do in 4 or 5 years, it expanded beyond its casing. Personally I foresee a copper battery, combined with a hydrogen fuel cell as an eventual auto future energy source, as Germany has been developing hydrides for a couple of decades, starting off in busses, and are poised for the automotive trade.
John Voelcker Posted: 2/17/2013 4:30am UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/16/2013 6:17pm UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 1:49am UTC
Morin Moss Posted: 2/18/2013 5:52am UTC
John Schmeltz Posted: 2/14/2013 2:49pm UTC
Mittar Khalsa Posted: 2/14/2013 2:52pm UTC
Chris O Posted: 2/14/2013 7:12pm UTC
robok2 Posted: 2/14/2013 9:29pm UTC
The NYT is the worst newspaper in the U.S. according to the Fox News crowd; does that not tell you anything?
Chris O Posted: 2/14/2013 10:23pm UTC
robok2 Posted: 2/15/2013 4:36pm UTC
Not to say that the NYT hasn't published some nonsense, either. You're right, though, at moments like this, the NYT is really no better than Fox News.
erik Grad Posted: 2/14/2013 3:27pm UTC
Norm Satkoski Posted: 2/14/2013 5:10pm UTC
CDspeed . Posted: 2/14/2013 3:45pm UTC
Vladi Ivanov Posted: 2/14/2013 7:54pm UTC
CDspeed . Posted: 2/14/2013 9:22pm UTC
robok2 Posted: 2/14/2013 9:33pm UTC
Reporters who lie don't get to stay reporters.
Norbert N Posted: 2/14/2013 4:13pm UTC
1. made the trip without problem,
2. the detour to the Level 2 charger would not have been necessary,
3. the trip could have been made at a nice speed,
4. and at a comfy temerature
Compare this to the impression Broder's article will give to the unprepared reader.
Steve S Posted: 2/14/2013 4:25pm UTC
Well, someone is lying. Either Mr. Musk or Mr. Broder. And unless Tesla has just fabricated their data log...I cannot imagine how Broder will be able to get work writing for a montessori school paper.
robok2 Posted: 2/14/2013 4:27pm UTC
Stay tuned and kudos to Tesla for picking this battle, which I still think is worthwhile.
Rico Soma Posted: 2/14/2013 4:39pm UTC
Edward Arthur Posted: 2/14/2013 6:27pm UTC
>The fact that Broder was biased and had written a biased article before (that Tesla didn't know about!!!)is another indication that Tesla still has a ways to go to get its act together.
This should have been handled better by Tesla PR. But this says nothing about the technical abilities of the car. You should drive one. I do EVERY DAY. The Roadster may have been a science project but the Model S is a refined work of art.
James Cooke Posted: 2/14/2013 7:43pm UTC
to drive a petrol car with an EPA rating of 450 miles, over 550 miles, ignoring warnings about low fuel and the faster than expected range loss due to cold weather. In other words, if you want to prove something can fail, you will undoubtedly succeed! Big surprise!
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 3:46pm UTC
robok2 Posted: 2/14/2013 9:38pm UTC
"They can't support the reporter...?" Sre you kidding, what support did he need that wasn't provided? Help not lying? Help using common sense? Help not having a bias? I wonder how the many other journalists who've driven the Model S manged when poor Mr. Broder was victimized in your mind?
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 3:56pm UTC
John Voelcker Posted: 2/17/2013 4:41pm UTC
You don't explain what Elon Musk's personal life and living arrangments have to do with this fact.
jackie cox Posted: 2/18/2013 6:27am UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/18/2013 6:36am UTC
Thom Landon Posted: 2/15/2013 6:25pm UTC
Jeff Hre Posted: 2/16/2013 8:16am UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 4:05pm UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 3:36pm UTC
Peter Anastopulos Posted: 2/14/2013 4:44pm UTC
robok2 Posted: 2/14/2013 9:37pm UTC
David Laur Posted: 2/14/2013 5:26pm UTC
or we can look at this as an EV experience in which we all pretty much know that an EV'er would have found overnight charging. Hotels these days are so ready to generate new business that they would bend over backwards to provide 120 if asked. I have done it several times and have never been turned down including some where very gallant efforts were made to get a plug to me.
so the article did not set right with me on either front from day one
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 4:13pm UTC
Cameron Brown Posted: 2/14/2013 6:10pm UTC
Chris O Posted: 2/14/2013 7:25pm UTC
This article doesn't even begin to describe the scale and boldness of Mr. Broder's lies. People should really read Tesla's blog for a full report:
http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/most-peculiar-test-drive
Somehow I don't think NYT sacks reporters for lying though. Maybe for not getting away with it...
robok2 Posted: 2/14/2013 9:40pm UTC
And I don't mean this to mock you or insult you, just to point out that it happens and might happen again here if there is any justice.
jackie cox Posted: 2/16/2013 6:10pm UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 4:18pm UTC
Xiaolong Li Posted: 2/14/2013 6:48pm UTC
I will stick with GCR for my source of EV news... :)
evnow evnow Posted: 2/14/2013 7:25pm UTC
No. We need to get to the bottom of this. Why exactly did John Broder lie in his report ? Why is this not another "Jason Blair" case ?
jackie cox Posted: 2/16/2013 6:07pm UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 4:24pm UTC
Mark Sandeen Posted: 2/14/2013 7:45pm UTC
Broder says that a Tesla employee told him the range loss was the result of a software glitch.
Was the range loss really the result of a software glitch - implying range loss like this won't happen in the future after Tesla updates its software?
Or is the range loss the result of battery physics? And how does this range loss relate to temperature? What would have happened if the car had been parked overnight at 0 degree F instead of 10 degree F? or 50 degrees F?
Yuri G Posted: 2/14/2013 8:52pm UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/16/2013 6:07pm UTC
Brian Henderson Posted: 2/14/2013 10:50pm UTC
The Model S pack has an ideal operational temperature of ~65-70F … for best performance away from ideal conditions the battery will require energy for heating, or cooling. Battery pack capacity can vary ~5-15% depending on temperature difference and battery chemistry.
For reference petro changes in volume ~2% for 0-70F. ICE has advantage in cold as its fuel is combination of air + petro, & air is more dense at cooler temperatures.
jackie cox Posted: 2/16/2013 6:05pm UTC
Eric P Posted: 2/16/2013 7:47pm UTC
John Voelcker Posted: 2/16/2013 8:25pm UTC
Your main point, however, is entirely correct. Even in states with the dirtiest grids (WV and ND, IIRC), running on grid power is lower-carbon than a 25-mpg car. In California, you have to have a 100-mpg car (which doesn't exist) to get as clean as a plug-in.
And that's shown both by last year's Union of Concerned Scientists study and the landmark 2007 EPRI-NRDC study. Which I rather suspect commenter Cox has never read.
Eric P Posted: 2/16/2013 10:41pm UTC
http://energycenter.org/index.php/incentive-programs/clean-vehicle-rebate-project/vehicle-owner-survey?utm_source=pev-survey&utm_medium=repondents&utm_campaign=cvrp
John Voelcker Posted: 2/17/2013 12:20am UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 4:32pm UTC
John Briggs Posted: 2/14/2013 7:57pm UTC
Electric Vehicle Posted: 2/14/2013 11:33pm UTC
Morin Moss Posted: 2/18/2013 5:59am UTC
Eugene Peysakh Posted: 2/14/2013 8:07pm UTC
Eugene Peysakh Posted: 2/14/2013 8:06pm UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 4:21am UTC
Xiaolong Li Posted: 2/17/2013 8:20pm UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/16/2013 6:06pm UTC
Xiaolong Li Posted: 2/14/2013 8:47pm UTC
So, he is probably going to be the "worst" critic of anything electric. That is just the way it is going to be.
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 4:18am UTC
Xiaolong Li Posted: 2/17/2013 8:22pm UTC
Rico Soma Posted: 2/14/2013 9:06pm UTC
Brian Henderson Posted: 2/14/2013 11:10pm UTC
Test Tesla, address your concerns to them and see how they respond! You have options & EV choices in So. Cal., ~12 in 2013, potentially 20 in 2014.
Good luck finding the "best vehicle" for you. :)
jackie cox Posted: 2/16/2013 6:01pm UTC
Xiaolong Li Posted: 2/16/2013 9:41pm UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 4:02am UTC
Xiaolong Li Posted: 2/17/2013 8:26pm UTC
The Gulf War I was a choice too? To re-establish the monarch that is friendly to us and sell us their oil...
jackie cox Posted: 2/18/2013 6:45am UTC
Eric P Posted: 2/17/2013 1:21am UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 3:59am UTC
Eric P Posted: 2/17/2013 1:29am UTC
Automobile Magazine's 2013 Car of the Year
Motor Trend's 2013 Car of the Year, and awards given by Time Magazine, CNET, Popular Science, Yahoo Autos, Green Car Reports, AutoGuide.com
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 3:49am UTC
Morin Moss Posted: 2/18/2013 6:04am UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 4:11am UTC
robok2 Posted: 2/15/2013 4:52pm UTC
Gee, I wonder who's more likely to fudge the facts, Tesla's well-known data logs, which have been published, of course, or a writer whose dislike of EVs is known?
For most of us, to blame Tesla for this is just wrong. Please buy what you want, of course, but Tesla will do fine outside California once the dealerships exist and the vehicles are available.
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 3:42am UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/18/2013 6:50am UTC
Thom Landon Posted: 2/15/2013 6:30pm UTC
Notice that we don't have actual quotes from anyone who actually gave him the advice. This is reporting 101. He should have a name, time etc. He can't even look into his phone to see how many times he called Tesla. Or who he talked to. Or when those calls happened.
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 3:29am UTC
george Whiteside Posted: 2/14/2013 10:14pm UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 3:31am UTC
James Lincoln Posted: 2/14/2013 11:25pm UTC
robok2 Posted: 2/15/2013 4:57pm UTC
I'll look forward to your comments here when others replicate the trip and have zero problems.
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 3:23am UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/16/2013 5:57pm UTC
Electric Vehicle Posted: 2/14/2013 11:42pm UTC
http://www.kingoftheroad.net/charge_across_america/charge_html/chargehome.html
More on the 50 kW Magne Charge fast charger for EV1 http://www.eanet.com/ev1-club/archive/981017/981017.htm
John Voelcker Posted: 2/15/2013 12:50pm UTC
First, there's a major difference between a two-seat coupe and a five-person luxury sport sedan. Far fewer U.S. buyers (generally only 1% of the market) will ever buy a two-seat car.
Second, the Tesla SuperCharger system now exists and is in use. The system you describe was "developed but never made it to market"--so it remains in the realm of the hypothetical.
Interesting history, though. What might have been versus what exists now.
jackie cox Posted: 2/18/2013 6:50am UTC
David Laur Posted: 2/15/2013 12:11am UTC
Chewie TheChewmonster Posted: 2/15/2013 1:12am UTC
So, it's not a matter of right-wing media being better or more accurate -- they're not, and no one who has not drunk the ideological Kool-Aid would contest that. The issue is that even news outlets -- such as the New York Times -- that do a better job than the demonstrably-idiotic ones, are far from perfect.
Xiaolong Li Posted: 2/15/2013 3:15am UTC
But Let me play "devil's own advocate" for a second here. We have to admit that BEVs today are NOT "fool proof". Average BEV cars buyers are probably more educated, more wealthy and more intelligent than "average car buyers". So, the technology is NOT "fool proof" yet. Whether Broder did it intentionaly or NOT is another matter, but the fact is that someone can act like an "idiot" and end up getting stuck, with the latest and greatest BEV on earth. Sure, the same thing can happen with gasoline cars as well. But the fact is ICE cars carry more energy and have more available public infrastructure and more owner experiences, the chance of this happening in ICE cars is far less than BEVs
Neil Blanchard Posted: 2/15/2013 6:02pm UTC
Neil
Xiaolong Li Posted: 2/15/2013 6:32pm UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/16/2013 5:53pm UTC
Xiaolong Li Posted: 2/17/2013 8:30pm UTC
3. If Broder is truly "objective", then he should have stated that in his "experiement" as trying to be as "dumb" as a typical ICE driver get. But he didn't...
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 3:16am UTC
Xiaolong Li Posted: 2/17/2013 8:32pm UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/18/2013 6:56am UTC
Xiaolong Li Posted: 2/15/2013 3:26am UTC
A funny story, one lady rushed into my local Chevy Dealer service room while I was waiting to get my tire patched for a small punchture. She came into the room and asked out "loudly", "I need help!!", "my kid played with my SUV and somehow managed to change all the controls to French and I can't find a way to switch it back and I can't do anything anymore...Help! I need help now!"
Just about everyone in room laughed out loudly. But apparently, no one spoke French in that room...
Thom Landon Posted: 2/15/2013 6:30pm UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/16/2013 5:49pm UTC
Xiaolong Li Posted: 2/16/2013 9:36pm UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 4:51pm UTC
Xiaolong Li Posted: 2/17/2013 8:34pm UTC
How energy will 200,000 EVs draw per day? Typical driving is about 40 miles per day. 2% is MORE than enough to cover that. That 85% is powering the rest of the industrial usage. When you reduce your gasoline usage, it will also reduce those dirty powers that needs to power the refinery and gas stations.
Just so you know. I am NOT calling for elimination of all fosill fuels over night. But there is NOTHING wrong with moving towards more green energy.
Personally, my Volt is powered by both the 3KW solar panels on my roof and the 1MW solar panels at work.
jackie cox Posted: 2/18/2013 6:59am UTC
Matt Griscom Posted: 2/15/2013 2:45pm UTC
Dan Richman Posted: 2/15/2013 7:26pm UTC
The Leaf is a commuter,not a general purpose car.
Electric Vehicle Posted: 2/15/2013 5:35pm UTC
So Mr Border, I retract my implications that the article was untruthful.
It's really a shame for all involved that this wasn't resolved with a phone call or emails clarifying the viewpoints of both sides and reconciling that with the data.
Consumers without instructions on EVs could experience these issues. Work to do.
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/that-tesla-data-what-it-says-and-what-it-doesnt/
Neil Blanchard Posted: 2/15/2013 5:59pm UTC
http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/15/autos/tesla-model-s/
He had range to spare, in fact.
The New York Times has to very concerned about their reputation - it is the most important asset they have.
Mr. Broder is trying to spin things but he is a journalist - and not an entertainer. I watched Transport Evolved podcast #138 and Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield ( http://www.youtube.com/user/aminorjourney ) and she mentions that the BBC "reports" on this in a one-sided self-serving way.
I think that Elon Musk knew what he was doing.
Neil
jackie cox Posted: 2/18/2013 6:58am UTC
Electric Vehicle Posted: 2/15/2013 6:02pm UTC
Dan Richman Posted: 2/15/2013 7:18pm UTC
I take kayaking trips that would put all currently available electric cars out of their safe charge range. That means that if I was going to buy any Tesla I would still need a real car to take on such a trip.
I can hop in my Jetta TDI and drive 200 miles to a remote area without worrying about where I am going to plug it in. Until electric cars can do the same they are a not general purpose cars.
I have a challenge for Mr. Musk: Newport Oregon to the Steens Mountains. You WILL loose. The Tesla is just a toy for rich people. Nothing more, nothing less!
jackie cox Posted: 2/16/2013 5:42pm UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/16/2013 6:20pm UTC
Dan Bulley Posted: 2/16/2013 7:27pm UTC
John Voelcker Posted: 2/16/2013 8:24pm UTC
And I don't feel I'm trying to cover for the NYT. I'm trying to present all relevant facts so that readers can make up their own minds. Sounds like you've done that already?
Dan Bulley Posted: 2/16/2013 9:11pm UTC
Xiaolong Li Posted: 2/16/2013 9:34pm UTC
http://andwediditourway.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/the-not-so-ev-life.html
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 3:01am UTC
The Big Ones ? Eh ?
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 3:06am UTC
Dan Bulley Posted: 2/16/2013 7:30pm UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 2:16am UTC
Neil Blanchard Posted: 2/17/2013 4:22am UTC
At 6F (which it apparently was on the night Mr. Broder stayed in the hotel) and say a 4 year old battery or if he left the dome light on or if there was a little water in the tank - what guarantee would Mr. Broder have that the engine would even start; let alone be able to go as far as it would have on the ~1/4 tank of gas?
Neil
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 5:41am UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 5:44am UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 6:59am UTC
jackie cox Posted: 2/17/2013 7:05am UTC
John Voelcker Posted: 2/17/2013 3:54pm UTC
What are the motivations for the 50-plus comments you've posted on this topic in the last 3 days?
jackie cox Posted: 2/18/2013 7:05am UTC
Have an opinion?Join the conversation!