Tesla bans Stewart Alsop from buying Model X

[Tam]

not allowed to criticize Tesla in public?

Freedom of speech carries lots of weight (at least in a state if not all.)

Someone can criticize or even draw cartoons to make fun of a president and but the author's citizenship cannot be stripped away.

Your free speech would not protect you if you have accepted

[FONT=proxima_nova]"A non-disparagement clause might look something like this:[/FONT]
[FONT=proxima_nova]Any disputes between the parties remain confidential. Customers shall not make or encourage others to make any public statement that is intended to, or reasonably could be foreseen to, embarrass or criticize the company or its employees, without obtaining prior written approval from the company."


However, such clauses are now illegal in California since 2014.

[/FONT]

 

[techmaven]

Wait, some of you are basically saying that Mr. Musk should have provided sufficient detail about the contents of a private conversation with a prospective customer in order to justify himself? That's better? He'd be slammed for that.

 

[MsElectric]

This whole thread is the saddest thing I've read on this forum. So much defense of a CEO who didn't know enough to apologize at the event for being late, no matter the excuse, can't honestly communicate to loyal deposit paying customers why their cars are years and months late, yet takes time to "reach out" to someone because he felt insulted who criticized him? And then broadcast a tweet about it? Just sad :frown: Hopefully none of the analysts hurt his feelings next week.

I love Tesla but I doubt anyone would refer to me as someone who would support Tesla no matter what. But in this case I support this customer being banned especially after taking into account all his past whining and complaints and how disrespectful his discourse is. I would not want such a person for a customer at our business either.

You might want to try owning a business sometime so that you understand that businesses are also run by other human beings and at some point certain customers are just not worth the time, effort, and hassle.

And you do realize this has more to do with just a tweet; right? There was actually a phone call between Musk and this person because things escalated that badly.

 

[dsm363]

The customer is the one who made everything public as well. He got the attention he wanted.

 

[flankspeed8]

Wait, some of you are basically saying that Mr. Musk should have provided sufficient detail about the contents of a private conversation with a prospective customer in order to justify himself? That's better? He'd be slammed for that.

Then perhaps it would have been better to make no comment at all? Referring to the customer as super rude just was not necessary from the CEO of a $23 billion company. He should have taken the high road by mocking the coverage without characterization. "Wow, must be a super slow news day if a private dispute with a prospective customer made all these headlines. No comment!!"

 

[nienco2]

You might want to try owning a business sometime

Now I'll just accept your condescending assumption I've never owned a business as an insult and..... oh just forget about it :smile:

 

[jeffro01]

Now I'll just accept your condescending assumption I've never owned a business as an insult and..... oh just forget about it :smile:

Considering how you chose to respond and what you chose to say, I don't see any issue with the conclusion "MsElectric" drew from it.

Jeff

 

[MichealW]

I think the author crossed the line when he titled his post "Elon, you should be ashamed of yourself". No need to try to "shame" Elon. But on the other hand, I understand the author's frustration. I also was very upset and angry at how I (and others) were treated at the X launch event. I event brought up my concerns with one of the main event coordinators (super late start with no apology, lack of X vehicles for test drive, overcrowding, ridiculous wait, etc). However, the event coordinator completely blew me off. The coordinator basically said, "we're doing a great job." And "Elon can start whenever he wants and do whatever he wants." I felt reprimanded and it was a terrible experience. And this wasn't the first time I felt like this dealing with Tesla recently. I've had a lot of negative experiences with Tesla over the past year or so. I feel sad, especially since I'm one of their biggest fans.

I was also at the event and this comment from Dave is spot on. I'm sorry Elon please don't cancel my X lol... I will say out of all the events I've been to (Almost all of them from the beginning) that was the only one that was like that. The rest you had to wait but it wasn't 3 hours... I'm sure he had good reason. My guess: The Falcon wing doors stopped working on one of his stage cars and it took them 2 hours to get the problem fixed! They did have a lot that had to go perfect that night. Had to be a stressful deal!

 

[markb1]

Then perhaps it would have been better to make no comment at all? Referring to the customer as super rude just was not necessary from the CEO of a $23 billion company. He should have taken the high road by mocking the coverage without characterization. "Wow, must be a super slow news day if a private dispute with a prospective customer made all these headlines. No comment!!"

Yes, exactly! Elon chose to wade into it in public, thereby making himself look even pettier than had he not.

 

[ankitmishra]

Thats your opinion. In my opinion he just told everyone that Tesla wont deal with rude customers. His tweet just shows his resolve to avoid rude customers.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

Yes, exactly! Elon chose to wade into it in public, thereby making himself look even pettier than had he not.

That's your own interpretation, it doesn't come across as petty at all. Amusing, sure, petty...not so much.

 

[Tam]

the first was some Dr who filed a lemon law suit regarding his Model S. Tesla gave him his money back for the Model S but banned him from buying a Tesla in the future.

I am not sure whether it is legal to refuse service based on a law suit.

Imagine if I would file an ignition switch failure law suit against GM and it would ban me from buying GM products based on that?

 

[ohmman]

I am not sure whether it is legal to refuse service based on a law suit.

Imagine if I would file an ignition switch failure law suit against GM and it would ban me from buying GM products based on that?

These are completely different examples. Imagine if you filed a frivolous lawsuit against GM, and you settled out of court with them - one of the constraints could easily be that you don't get to buy their cars anymore.

 

[4SUPER9]

These are completely different examples. Imagine if you filed a frivolous lawsuit against GM, and you settled out of court with them - one of the constraints could easily be that you don't get to buy their cars anymore.

Or just "Give me what I want, RIGHT NOW. NOW! NOW! NOW! Or I'm going to sue you!" I think that qualifies.

 

[markb1]

Thats your opinion. In my opinion he just told everyone that Tesla wont deal with rude customers. His tweet just shows his resolve to avoid rude customers.

That would be a very terrible way to run a business. Sure, some customers are so bad Tesla is better off not doing business with them. But when a customer makes valid criticism, as in this case, Elon should address the problems, not use the customer's tone as as excuse to ignore the message.

That said, I do not advocate rudeness, and this situation shows why being rude is not a good way to deliver a message.

 

[AlMc]

Whether you own a business or not I believe it is common knowledge that you can not please everyone. I do own a business and periodically we do 'fire' clients. My mental health and the mental health of my staff is more important than the 1% of clients that take up to 50% of our time with constant complaining. I am OK with constructive criticism. Sometimes it is warranted and we can learn from it. I actually feel that these are some of my most loyal clients as they are actually helping me/my staff improve the quality of service we provide. They are trying to help me/my business.

I don't know both sides/the whole story of the interaction between this individual and EM so I can't assign blame.

However, I was at the X reveal and some of his constructive criticism rings true. Especially EM's concept of time. All our time is valuable and it is taking your best clients/customers for granted by being late for the event by hours (not a few minutes) without an apology. Unfortunately, it reinforces the *perception* (actually the reality) that EM/TM can not meet self imposed deadlines. Whether it be an event showing off a product that has been eagerly anticipated for years or production/delivery of that vehicle.

Yes. The man is a genius and he and his companies are doing great things and I commend and respect him for that. It does not give him a 'pass' for less than stellar execution or even something as small as a 'sorry/thank you' from time to time.

 

[NoVIN4Me]

The entire forum at Tesla.com had been banned for the last 2 days. We should all just shut up and patiently wait for our MXs.

 

[Tam]

Obviously, if you are a business owner, you don't want anyone to talk down about your products.

Famous film critics Siskel and Ebert were indefinitely banned from screening previews of 20th Century Fox films after they gave "thumbs down" to the film "Nuns on the Run."

Fortunately, 20th Century Fox came to its senses and quickly reversed the ban.

 

[ankitmishra]

That would be a very terrible way to run a business. Sure, some customers are so bad Tesla is better off not doing business with them. But when a customer makes valid criticism, as in this case, Elon should address the problems, not use the customer's tone as as excuse to ignore the message.

That said, I do not advocate rudeness, and this situation shows why being rude is not a good way to deliver a message.

This was a huge event for Tesla. Lots of people. I don't think Tesla will repeat the same mistakes. However, I hope you understand that they cant stop making mistakes. An innovative company cant afford to play it safe. I believe 3 event will be a much better one.

 

[markb1]

This was a huge event for Tesla. Lots of people. I don't think Tesla will repeat the same mistakes. However, I hope you understand that they cant stop making mistakes. An innovative company cant afford to play it safe. I believe 3 event will be a much better one.

I certainly didn't intend to suggest that!