There's a weird relationship at the heart of car reviews. Dealers largely won't let us drive cars for more than an hour, and that's not enough for a review. We'd love to buy every car we drive, but anyone suggesting that's possible doesn't really understand the economics of the modern digital media business. That means we have to turn to manufacturer-provided loaners, a compromise we aim to consistently note via our "Full Disclosure" section of the review. Yet that strategy doesn't work for Tesla.
The company does everything differently. While other automakers have press teams to handle inquiries from the media and, in most cases, provide loaners, Tesla merely provides a generic press@Tesla.com email address. It's effectively a wishing well. You throw questions and requests in, and nothing comes out.
Tesla used to do this, back in the 2010s. Certain members of the current InsideEVs team got access to cars like the Model S and Model 3 when they were brand-new, writing for other outlets. But since CEO Elon Musk dissolved the Tesla press team, that's a no-go for us.
Now, Tesla does seem to loan some cars to so-called influencers, certain large magazines and outlets in Europe; its press team allowed us a new Model 3 for review in Europe because the company still interfaces with journalists over there. But here in the U.S., it's radio silence for all communications with the media: requests for comment, press releases, updates on new products and, yes, cars to test.
Some Tesla fans may see this as a victory over companies that are too buddy-buddy with the press. I get it. If you're trying to be ethical in this business, this sort of thing is a minefield and it's often abused.
The conflicts regarding reviewing a product you get for free are substantial, and I devote large parts of my efforts here to making sure we remain fair and free of outside influence on our reviews. I hope that comes through. I'm proud of the fact that our reviews are harsh when necessary, glowing when appropriate and always honest representations of what the author actually thinks. We don't pull punches.
The last thing I want to do is come off as entitled by complaining that a certain company won't give us free cars to test, either. But as an InsideEVs reader, you should know this makes it difficult to learn anything about what Tesla is doing. If we want to try out the latest software, or version of Autopilot or Full Self-Driving, or see what the updates to the Model 3 Highland and upcoming Model Y Juniper are like, we're basically out of luck. That can make the largest EV manufacturer in the world a kind of black box more often than we'd like.
Tesla's approach, unfortunately, guarantees that no one can do the sort of in-depth reporting that we do on other automakers. If we have a technical question about an engineering decision, a factual question about company policies or a genuine curiosity about something new, we can go kick rocks. Tesla isn't picking up the phone.
That makes it nigh-impossible to combat misinformation about the company—which abounds—as the one source that could refute a claim will never engage. When the company does communicate with the public, it does so through Elon Musk's X account, which often bears no resemblance to the truth (and unlike in the 2010s, has very little to do with Tesla these days.)
Lately, what we've seen is that the few people who are allowed to talk to Tesla executives or review their products with company demo cars, are sometimes the most fawning, hand-selected "critics" Tesla knows.
Gallery: 2024 Breakthrough Award Nominee: The Tesla Cybertruck
InsideEVs doesn't make that list. That means that if we want to experience the cars, we have to get them ourselves. Fair play.
The company doesn't owe us test cars; frankly, none do. But Tesla forces us to treat its products differently from others, so I wanted to lay out my thinking on the issue. If you think there's a better way, don't shy away from telling me. My email is below.
The first option is to borrow a car from readers. That is the fairest option on paper, as it doesn't require us to take discounts or rentals from other companies. But there's another moral tie-up there. I like our readers. I love the many, many readers who have volunteered to give us time in their cars, at no cost and with no strings attached. You are all so kind, and so well-intentioned. That there is the problem.
Because what happens, then, if I hate your car? If you're a Cybertruck owner who gives us a car out of the kindness of your heart, it'll be pretty hard for me to say the Cybertruck is a car you mostly buy for attention, even if I think that's true. Though there's no direct financial relationship there, there's an emotional one.
Plus, the liability of driving a private owner's car on company business is a nightmare. Most importantly, we can't really bother a reader's personal car for a week, and if we only drive for an hour it's hard to tell you anything you can't learn in a test drive.
So there's one option if we want to spend a few days with a specific model. We use Turo. For the unfamiliar, Turo allows you to rent cars from private owners (and small businesses that use the site), and its key selling point is the ability to rent a specific car. So instead of getting a "Chrysler Pacifica or similar" that turns out to be a Mitsubishi Mirage, we can rent a specific Cyberbeast or Model S Plaid. And we pay for this ourselves.
It's the best solution, one that allows me to criticize a car freely while still providing something to the owner to make it worth their time. The one issue is that owners set the price, and for a hot new product like the Cybertruck loans can be expensive. When I drove one back in February, it was about $1,000 per day, plus extras. Then we have to insure it, and multiply that out by the six Breakthrough Awards judges we had and... oh my. This is why—full disclosure—we also work with Turo to get a discount in certain cases, particularly for bigger projects like this. Because of that, we also mention that we get the cars on Turo. I hope that's an acceptable compromise.
We're free to criticize the cars as needed, to drive them hundreds of miles and get real-world experience in them. The owner gets paid, Turo gets some publicity and Tesla doesn't have to lift a finger. I think it's a win-win-win for us, the readers and Turo, but I'm open to other suggestions.
And if you have any personal complaints about me, feel free to send them to press@Tesla.com. I'm sure someone will read them eventually.
Contact the author: Mack.hogan@insideevs.com.
