Jeremy Clarkson recently admitted that he was impressed by the Tesla Model X during a recent test drive for The Grand Tour. However, it doesn’t appear as though the outspoken journalist is a big fan of the Model X’s creator, Elon Musk.
Top Gear was famously sued by Elon Musk in 2008 for libel after a review of the Tesla Roadster showed the electric sports car running out of power and suffering brake failure. Musk lost the lawsuit but has been a critic of Clarkson ever since.
Recently speaking with The Daily Beast after the premiere of the first episode of The Grand Tour’s second season, Clarkson said Musk has “sour grapes” about the whole ordeal.
“He sued me and lost, he appealed and lost. You go online and you read that we ‘made it up,’ that we ‘faked it’…We didn’t.
“You see, if anybody is going to get sued, I mean you can’t say that sort of thing. I could say all sorts of things about Musk but I won’t. Musk doesn’t like losing. Unfortunately, he did twice…He’s just got sour grapes.
“I actually reviewed the new Tesla in the new show and in many ways, it’s tremendous. I’ve got no axe to grind. He’s the only one who ever behaved in such a petulant way—most industry bosses are a lot more grown up,” Clarkson said.
Few will deny that at the time of its launch, the original Tesla Roadster had numerous shortcomings, perhaps none more significant than its poor handling compared to the Lotus it was based on. However, in the decade since, the electric carmaker has defied the skeptics and continued to produce electric vehicles, including the affordable Model 3.
With that being said, things aren’t entirely rosy and the company does have some way to go before being a proper rival to the established players in the auto industry.
The following video is from a BBC interview of Elon Musk from 2013