Wow, I think this is some kind of milestone for me. Thanks, Owen. You need to get better sources though.
If your story were true I wouldn't have to be going to a deposition in the next few weeks even though I've left Tesla.
What happened last January sucked for everyone at Tesla, and in my case it sucked to be a spokesperson through that time. But it was my job. Now, it isn't.
As I told you on the phone, my leaving Tesla has nothing to do with any lawsuit, and was by my own choice.
P.S. @jessestalker - if you can be discrete lets meet tonight at the comfort suites in San Carlos. I'll be the guy with the manpurse and the vibrating iPhone.
Tesla's response to this article can be found here:
Andrew,
The whole thing about a bulletin board with names is completely fabricated. I think you were duped by your "source." There was no bulletin board with names of those laid off. It just didn't happen.
It is true, unfortunately, that the blog post outlining the strategic rationale for the cuts the company was taking mentioned that the RH office would eventually be closing down (it was not closed down Friday contrary to reports, nor were 90% of people laid off). This should have been told to the folks at RH in person before it was on a blog. That was a mistake, but by no means was anyone "laid off by blog." Every person who was impacted met with their manager to receive the news on Friday.
Darryl (from Tesla)
The title is not true, though the body text is close to true. There are less than 20 slots left for the 2nd quarter of US production.
There are still plenty of cars left for all of 2009.
@allanparkpete
I don't understand question #5.
@larsenf
try this link for a Roadster doing donuts
@flakjack - I think the question is what is authenticity and credibility in a brand worth? It's harder to measure than eyeballs but I think it is extremely valuable, especially for an EV startup doing what we are doing.
@lascauzcaveman - I think Jalopnik pronouced WhiteStar dead, but they are wrong (shocker!). WhiteStar was not killed or even put on hold. You will hear more about WhiteStar soon.
Paul - I think you are assuming we try to stage these things. The event was scheduled for Tuesday because that is when the car was supposed to arrive. It missed its flight so the event was scheduled for Friday when it actually showed up. I suppose I could have kept the car in a crate till next Tuesday but that would be bullshit (that's a technical PR term). I am less interested in timing the news cycle than having the historical moment be as authentic as possible.
wow - all we need is for Eric to comment and we have a Siry trifecta
I only comment when I have something witty to say. Wait a minute, I just commented and it wasn't witty.
this is the best valleywag post in a long while. funny as hell. Encore!
so no taxes and I can do drugs and shoot guns? sign me up!
@shapeshifter: I told Johnny Lieberman that he'd be near the top of the list when I open test drives to blogs. That will be late January or early February.
@Bobdobbs: I agree with "put up or shut up" as a company, which is why we haven't been saying much as a company until we have something meaningful to say. If you mean I shouldn't be commenting here then I disagree with that.
(disclosure - I am the head of sales, marketing & service for Tesla)
I found it very ironic that all of this speculation about the Roadster not working comes when I have just completed a full week of test drives (not rides) with Kim Reynolds, Csaba Csere, Don Sherman, Preston Lerner, Matt DeLorenzo, Jon Elfalan, and Mark Vaughn. Every one of them spent hours driving the car(s) with not a single thing going wrong. You won't get to hear their impressions until late January but I think they will be more reliable sources as to the Roadster than your "reliable source" that claims Darkstar is DOA.
It is indeed true that all hands are on deck to get Roadster into production - shouldn't they be? It would be odd if that were not the case. As we have already been saying, the final thing we have to solve before mass production is the reliability and durability of the transmission. They work (as we demonstrated this week) but they need to be made more durable before production.
She is just trying to practice the utmost in transparency. You gotta respect that. She is saying "here is my pitch in all its naked splendor, have at it - I am not ashamed" It is a beautiful thing, and she can now double bill Asolva and Samsung since she has gotten them both column inches on a "leading/premier media site."
