Jeremy Clarkson Wound Up “Something Rotten” By Chris Harris’ Claim On Joe Rogan Podcast That ‘Top Gear’ Faked A Scathing Tesla Review

Jake Kanter
·2-min read

Jeremy Clarkson has denied that Top Gear ever scripted a scathing Tesla review after his successor Chris Harris claimed that the BBC show was “naughty” in its treatment of Elon Musk’s electric car.

In his weekly column in The Sun newspaper, Clarkson said he was wound up “something rotten” by Harris telling The Joe Rogan Experience podcast that the 2008 Tesla review was effectively faked.

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“Joe and Chris perpetuate the myth that my Tesla road test was unfair,” Clarkson wrote. “On Top Gear we cocked about and upset a lot of ­people over the years. But our road tests were always scrupulously fair.”

In the review of the Tesla Roadster, Clarkson said the battery died after 88km on a race track, that the vehicle’s brakes failed, the engine overheated, and that it took 16 hours to charge.

It was not all rude, however. In a drag race with a Lotus Elise, Clarkson was impressed by the Roadster’s speed. “I cannot believe this. That’s biblically quick. This car is electric — literally,” he said.

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.

Musk’s Tesla sued the BBC over the review and ultimately lost. In 2013, a UK appeal court rejected the company’s complaint that Clarkson’s provocative review damaged its reputation.

At the time, Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman said: “I am pleased that the appeal court has upheld the previous ruling and the case has been struck out. I’d also like to apologize to the judges for making them have to watch so much Top Gear.”

During his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Harris was generous about Clarkson, describing him as “the best” and revealing that he initially ruled out presenting Top Gear because he would be an “idiot” to believe he could succeed his predecessor. Harris joined the show in 2016.

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