Tesla Death Watch 41: Tesla Death Watch Ended

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

TTAC’s Best and Brightest have spoken. TTAC has listened. You’ve asked for less negativity and more car passion non-death stuff (to use the technical term). So I’m cancelling the Tesla Death Watch. The Silicon Valley company has delivered its 100th Roadster– or so they say– and, well, how great is that? I still believe Tesla doesn’t have a hope in Hell of staying in business. But it will take a while for that to play out. We’ll continue to cover Tesla as and when the situation merits. But TTAC won’t be hovering over Elon Musk’s minions vulture-like, waiting for the latest insult or injury. I made my point: they’re a company fuelled by tree-hugging hype rather than solid engineering or accountability. Tesla Death Watch out.

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • Fallout11 Fallout11 on Dec 12, 2008

    As a longtime reader of TTAC (four years now), let me be clear: It is the Death Watches that made TTAC. Ignore the handful of recent naysayers, stick with what made TTAC what it is today. They are the only reason I visit, I can read vapid keyboard drooling regarding driving an Accord for a year or similar pretty much anywhere. As with the others, I will miss this Death Watch.

  • ZoomZoom ZoomZoom on Dec 12, 2008

    Boy, if this site were getting too negative, I would have started using smiley-face emoticons months ago! (:wink:) When did TTAC start wetting a finger and sticking it up in the air to see which way the wind was blowing? (:surprised look/mouth open:) I started coming here for the GM Deathwatch articles...around #60 or so. Robert was the only one telling the truth, for Christ's sake! (:true-dat, hands on hips:) Seeing some of the auto boneyard/junkyard photos was a little bit of a downer, but negativity? No way. Reality, yes; negativity, no. (:finger_wag/shame on buff rags:) You certainly didn't stop writing the GM/DW or F/DW or C/SW articles to satisfy anybody's delicate sensitivities; why get squeamish now? (:Confused smiley/WTF?:) Sometimes these things take time to come about; saying the truth is never the wrong thing to do, even if it takes a long time for the end-result to become apparent to the common man or woman. I didn't read most of the Tesla Death Watch articles, but only because of time constraints and because Tesla wasn't yet a major market player. But that does NOT mean that the TDW's shouldn't have been written, nor that they were negative. I say killing off the TDW was a mistake, but I must have missed that poll question. It's your site, though. I just hope it's the first AND LAST content decision you leave up to the readership. At least until 2011. (:arms crossed in front; So there!:) Oooh, but taking my advice would be like turning a content decision over to me, part of the readership...wouldn't it? Okay, maybe I don't want that responsibility. (:throwing_hands_up!:)

  • Neonjohn Neonjohn on Dec 13, 2008

    Let's see. One one hand we have several companies that make millions of cars each year and we have a death watch. On the other hand, we have a company that hasn't delivered on anything except the basic claim to hand-build a few cars. No production, non-conformance to claimed specs, hype and lying as the main product and a company that has no possible chance of surviving even if they could possibly do what they claimed. Now you're proposing to drop the death watch? WTF are you guys smoking? This is the only place we can get "car guys"-oriented info on the company instead of the screaming green spew that other news outlets deliver. If you discontinue the Death Watch, How the hell are we going to get any information that is believable? You REALLY need to re-think this one. JGD

  • Rolosrevenge Rolosrevenge on Dec 13, 2008

    Are you guys going to ever do a performance verification on Jason Calacanis' roadster? I've been waiting for that ever since that post a few weeks ago.

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