海角大神

Sarah Palin recently slammed electric car maker Tesla Motors on her Facebook page, referring to it as one of the 鈥渓osers鈥� of the auto industry. Earlier this week Tesla founder Elon Musk responded, tweeting that he鈥檚 鈥渄eeply wounded鈥� by Ms. Palin鈥檚 words and that some of her assertions about the company are incorrect.

So what鈥檚 the background to this online slap fight? Is anybody right here and anybody wrong?

We鈥檒l start with Alaska鈥檚 ex-governor. was really about plug-in hybrid vehicle manufacturer Fisker Automotive, not Tesla at all. On April 5 she noted that Fisker, which has received about $200 million in US government loans, was laying off three-fourths of its workforce.

鈥淭丑别 Anaheim, CA-based start-up has failed at pretty much every level 鈥� especially when it comes to the company鈥檚 ultra expensive luxury electric hybrid, the Karma (what a name!),鈥� wrote Palin.

She then went on to hit what she considers other tax-subsidized 鈥渓osers,鈥� including the Chevy Volt and the Tesla. Palin charged that Tesla鈥檚 fancy Model S. turns into a 鈥渂rick鈥� when the battery completely discharges, requiring a $40,000 repair.

Look, Fisker is low-hanging fruit in terms of criticizing government intervention in the economy. Vice President Joe Biden has attended some company announcements, and now the firm is pretty much belly up. Fully discharged. If there鈥檚 a 鈥渂rick鈥� here, Fisker may be it.

And yes, Volt costs have been subsidized by GM to get sales rolling. But last we looked, Chevy was still in business and Volts were still going out the door. And is California-based Fisker one of President Obama鈥檚 鈥渓osers鈥�? Elon Musk does not think so.

鈥淪arah Palin calls Tesla a loser. Am deeply wounded ... btw Model S. warranty does cover 鈥榖ricking鈥�,鈥� .

OK, here鈥檚 where we really have something to say. Elon Musk is a visionary, the guy behind PayPal, the private SpaceX launch firm, and Tesla. Maybe he鈥檚 an Edison for our time, maybe not. But he needs to learn that sometimes the better part of PR valor is keeping your yap shut and moving on.

Tesla was a bystander here at the beginning 鈥� Fisker was Palin鈥檚 real target. Do we need to add that Mr. Musk鈥檚 response on the 鈥渂ricking鈥� thing would not make us happy if we鈥檇 just shelled out more than 60 grand for a Model S? Yes, maybe we can turn our new baby into a brick through inattention! It鈥檚 nice the warranty covers it, but we would not want it to happen at all.

Earlier this year Musk had an even more ferocious battle with The New York Times. A Times reporter test-drove a Model S and reported a bad experience 鈥� among other things, the car鈥檚 battery ran down unexpectedly when parked overnight in low temperatures. Musk responded with a full assault on the reporter鈥檚 motives and facts, citing data logs retrieved from the car鈥檚 computers.

Eventually the that its reporter had problems with 鈥減recision and judgment鈥� but not 鈥渋ntegrity.鈥�

But sometimes 鈥減yrrhic鈥� and 鈥渧ictory鈥� also go together. Musk himself has said the fight cost the company orders and more than $100 million in revenue. It highlighted that electric cars aren鈥檛 yet fully analogous to internal combustion vehicles or even hybrids. Long-distance trips remain a challenge.

That said, have you seen the car? We want one. It鈥檇 be cooler than our Honda minivan, even 鈥渂ricked.鈥�