TTAC "Tesla Deathwatch" Series Rendered Tragically Ironic
TTAC officially retired its Tesla Deathwatch series over a year ago, after the firm delivered its 100th Roadster. Indeed, we’ve generally turned away from the “Deathwatch” tag in recent months, as the bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler have removed the immediacy of many of their original criticisms. Over the years, the Deathwatch label has been a challenging mistress, often confusing readers as to TTAC’s intentions: though they were intended to document the slow-motion bellyflop of America’s automakers, they’ve often been interpreted as a sign that TTAC actually wishes tragedy upon the automakers it identifies as being in danger of shuffling off this mortal coil. Incidents like the one today, in which three Tesla employees were apparently killed when an light aircraft owned by Tesla senior electrical engineer Doug Bourn crashed into a Palo Alto neighborhood, serve as an important reminder that nothing could be further from the case. TTAC criticizes automakers because responsibly buying, owning and operating motor vehicles requires that consumers be well-armed with the facts. When real tragedy strikes the companies that build the vehicles we discuss here, our thoughts go out to the families of those lost, and we hope that the company’s operations soon return to some semblance of normality. Today we mourn for Tesla’s as-yet unidentified employees (apparently CEO Elon Musk was not on board) who will not be at work tomorrow, working on new ways to respond to criticisms and improve the firm’s products.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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So... Three people die in a plane crash, and TTAC uses it as a weak subtext to glorify Farago-style sensationalism? The very first thing they teach in Journalism classes is that deaths always dominate event coverage.
"Deathwatch" seems like a poor choice of words when taken out of context. But I don't see it as a "wish" in any way, either in the human or corporate sense. It is simply part of TTAC's trademark to call things as they appear, which is why many of us are here. May I suggest "Chaptersevenwatch" in the future?
"Deathwatch" is fine by me. We are grown-ups here, and know exactly what it means. Don't be a politically-correct eunuch, man. Say it like it is, if you really want to be called Truth About Cars.
SO wait... Tesla selling a 100 of these 100k car built off the backs of the Lotus Elise. And Tesla canning the coupe to concentrate on a larger and unrelated platformed car almost unmonitored by Elon.. That doesn't bring a deathwatch? I'm totally confused.