Clarkson Rips Rogan And Harris Over ‘Faked’ Tesla Roadster Test Claim

Jeremy Clarkson has voiced frustration over recent comments made on a Joe Rogan podcast episode featuring Chris Harris in which Rogan repeated claims from Elon Musk that Top Gear’s infamous test of the first-generation Tesla Roadster was faked.

In a test from Top Gear’s twelfth season, Jeremy Clarkson reported that the Roadster ran out of charge after just 88 km (54 miles) and took 16 hours to recharge. There were also allegations of brake failure. Tesla was unhappy with the portrayal and promptly sued Top Gear for libel, but the court ruled in favor of the BBC, with Tesla losing again on appeal in 2013.

Read: Chris Harris Says He Warned BBC Over Safety Before Crash That Killed Top Gear

While speaking about all things car-related on the recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan said Top Gear “did Elon dirtier than anyone ever did,” to which Harris replies, “Oh, they were naughty with that.” Rogan goes on to claim that Elon Musk – who Rogan is friends with – told him he was furious at the test and alleges Top Gear did, in fact, pretend that the Roadster died and used it in a sketch.

Writing in his column with The Sun, Clarkson acknowledged that while Top Gear did “cock about and upset a lot of people over the years,” it ensured “its road tests were always scrupulously fair.”

“It does wind me up something rotten when Joe and Chris perpetuate the myth that my Tesla road test was unfair,” he added. Harris, one of the presenters who would go on to replace Clarkson on Top Gear, didn’t directly back up claims made by Rogan.

However, Harris he did say that, “without wanting to shatter on anyone’s illusions, that’s the way those car shows are made. Ultimately, you reverse engineer an outcome. So, you’re being told, ‘this is what you’re going to find, this is what’s going to happen’, all you [the presenter] needs to do is help us get there.”