Search Mobile

collapse

already registered?

Please sign in with your existing account details.

Email address

Password

need to register?

Register to access exclusive content, sign up to receive our updates and personalise your experience on brownejacobson.com.

Privacy statement - Terms and conditions

Forgotten your password?

collapseSign

Home

Insights

Resources

Blogs

The volt-head has overtaken the petrol-head - provided the batteries don’t run out…..

the volt-head has overtaken the petrol-head - provided the batteries don’t run out…..

31 March 2011

Tesla has issued proceedings against the BBC for malicious falsehood and defamation following Top Gear’s review of Tesla’s Roadster car.

The defamation claim relates to a statement that the electric car would only last 55 miles on a test track, despite the manufacturer claim of 200 miles. Tesla says the statement suggests it had “grossly misled potential purchasers” but surely most drivers know that a car’s range is reduced if driven hard, especially around a race track.

The malicious falsehood claim appears stronger. The claim states the Roadster never actually ran out of charge, despite footage showing it being pushed into a garage. Whether the footage amounts to malicious falsehood may depend on whether such footage is widely understood to be dramatised for entertainment purposes, or whether it should be taken to be a serious review of the car’s performance.

Tesla are evidently upset but litigating will only draw attention to other features of the Top Gear review, potentially exposing their cars to further negative coverage.

related opinions

The High Court offers no comfort for beleaguered retailers

Whilst this decision may not be surprising, it will undoubtedly send a chill down the spine of retailers in a similar position to The Fragrance Shop.

View blog

Developers: disregard restrictive covenants at your peril

The Supreme Court has decided a significant appeal on the Upper Tribunal’s power to discharge or modify restrictive covenants pursuant to section 84(1) of the Law of Property Act (“1925 Act”).

View blog

Government announces ten-year programme of school rebuilding

Ambitious funding plans, announced recently by the Prime Minister, have made clear that spending on school buildings is seen as a key element of efforts to stimulate the economy post-COVID.

View blog

Important opportunity to comment on case law precedent

The UK government is considering extending this power to depart from retained EU case law to additional lower courts and tribunals, namely the Court of Appeal in England and Wales and the High Court of Justice in England and Wales and their equivalents.

View blog

View all blogs