When Jeremy Clarkson was leading the charge at “Top Gear,” the team came under fire for faking all kinds of stunts and tricks, but he maintained through it all that the show’s road tests were fair. However, his successor at “Top Gear,” Chris Harris, claimed on Joe Rogan’s podcast that a review of the original Tesla Roadster was faked on the show and this hasn’t gone down well with Clarkson at all.
The TV personality originally reviewed the first-generation Tesla Roadster back in 2008 when “Top Gear” was at the height of its powers. In the review, Clarkson commented on the poor range of the car, which lasted just 55 miles on a race track, and claimed that it took an eye-watering 16 hours to top the battery up once again.
The review was, understandably, not taken well by Tesla boss Elon Musk who attempted to sue “Top Gear” and the BBC claiming that the review damaged the automaker’s reputation. Musk ultimately lost that battle when the case was dismissed by UK courts in 2013.
Despite courts ruling that Clarkson wasn’t in the wrong for his review, which also highlighted brake issues with the car and problems with its motor, Harris and Rogan have once again stirred up rumors that it was faked. As Deadline reports:
Rogan said Clarkson and the BBC did “Elon [Musk] dirtier than anybody ever did” with their review of the Tesla. “Oh, they were naughty with that,” Harris replied.
Rogan continued: “They did a terrible thing. I talked to him [Musk] about it and he was furious. They pretended that his car died and they did it for a sketch. And this was the early days of Tesla.”
Harris added that Top Gear would “reverse engineer an outcome,” meaning that producers would agree on a destination for a feature and the presenters would help achieve this aim.
Harris’ words haven’t pleased Clarkson, who took to the Sun to vent his frustration. “The Grand Tour” host said he was wound up “something rotten” by Harris and his remarks on the podcast, adding that his comments “perpetuate the myth that my Tesla road test was unfair.”
He continued: “On “Top Gear” we cocked about and upset a lot of people over the years. But our road tests were always scrupulously fair.”
Those road tests also included drives of record-breaking cars like the Bugatti Veyron and more humble machines such as the Peel P50. However, the drama surrounding the Tesla review stood out as a result of the failed legal battle that followed.
With Clarkson at the helm, “Top Gear” was no stranger to drama and litigation, with the show also coming under fire from carmakers over its coverage and even offended the entire country of Mexico. Maybe it’s for the best, then, that “Top Gear” has come to an end and “The Grand Tour” will soon follow suit.