> Starting a 7:00pm event at 8:50pm is simply unacceptable
.
> (even though the invitation insisted that everybody be at the venue by 7:30pm sharp).
So did it start at 7:00 pm or 7:30 pm?
That error notwithstanding, if this turns out to be true it seems pretty petty to cancel his preorder out of spite. In general I take a negative view of companies that "punish" their customers for writing negative reviews or comments. Makes me wonder if Tesla will let journalists review their vehicles fairly in the future.
Instead of this turning into a negative PR event, they could have turned this into a positive. Just call the guy, apologise for the late start, and invite him in to view the vehicle in a private showing. No doubt he would write an article either on the apology OR on the vehicle, and it is a net gain to Tesla's PR (or worst case he writes no article, and you still don't wind up with the negative PR we see here).
Instead now we have a company which may punish journalists and critics.
It would be helpful if you explained why? Isn't obvious to me from reading his posts. The event did start 45-60 minutes late and he still never got to view the vehicle.
I'm not twisting facts, just stated he didn't even stay after the announcement to checkout the car, that's on him. Also this was a reply to the parent comment talking about seeing the car.
I'm also not saying it was right for Tesla to ban him, that was shitty, but getting so angry over a late start and ranting about it in a blog post directed at Elon also wasn't a great choice.
Sorry, I did not realize it was hard to tell from his original post but he's extremely entitled, rude, and snobbish. He wrote personal attacks against the founder of a company for being late to an event and then complained about his expensive BMW.
I don't really have sympathy for anyone who thinks having to wait a little bit is grounds for someone else to be "ashamed" and to write TWO blog posts complaining about it.
He's a VC so he's used to people treating him like a king. He gets mildly inconvenienced one time and suddenly that's everyone else's problem? Nah, screw him. I would have done the same thing in Musk's shoes.
I actually think that's rather magnificent. Mr Whiny can't have his toy anymore. Yeah it's bad PR, probably, but I can't be the only one who thinks these rude blog posts directed at well-known strangers saying variations of 'dear so-and-so you should be ashamed of yourself' are a bit tasteless, crass, and low class.
I mean, the VC wrote his original post as a direct personal attack and then distributed it in public on a widely-read platform. That's pretty nuclear. In ascending order of severity he could have:
- Contacted Tesla directly
- Written to Elon Musk directly, privately
- Written a blog post about his crappy experience at the event
- Tweeted Elon with a link to his blog post
All of which might have made him feel better about wasting his evening and maybe got him some compensation (jumping a few places in the waitlist, or something) while not being actually offensive.
The best part is that he wasn't even "banned by Tesla," he cancelled his order out of spite and so he could thrust himself into the spotlight again.
Honest to god, some people are insufferable blowhards. Sure, the event started late, sure Elon might have acknowledged that, but if he thinks that (a) any of this matters enough to write TWO articles about and (b) that anyone really cares what he thinks, he's deluding himself. Moreover, he just looks like a complete fool for posting this kind of garbage and expecting a positive response.
Wait, what? He as in the VC author cancelled his own order? Oh man. I read it as Elon instructed Tesla to cancel his order.
Edit: I think I was right. Here's the direct quote from first paragraph: I also hear that you are not comfortable having me own a Tesla car and have cancelled my order for a Tesla Model X. Maybe you read a phantom "I" between 'and' and 'have'?
In general, cancelling and refunding orders is legal; there are cases where it is not legal (e.g., where it is done to implement a policy of discrimination on a legally-protected basis in something which is legally considered a public accommodation), but in general its perfectly legal.
21 comments
[ 3.4 ms ] story [ 54.6 ms ] threadThe network of Silicon Valley's elite is weird.
> Starting a 7:00pm event at 8:50pm is simply unacceptable
.
> (even though the invitation insisted that everybody be at the venue by 7:30pm sharp).
So did it start at 7:00 pm or 7:30 pm?
That error notwithstanding, if this turns out to be true it seems pretty petty to cancel his preorder out of spite. In general I take a negative view of companies that "punish" their customers for writing negative reviews or comments. Makes me wonder if Tesla will let journalists review their vehicles fairly in the future.
Instead of this turning into a negative PR event, they could have turned this into a positive. Just call the guy, apologise for the late start, and invite him in to view the vehicle in a private showing. No doubt he would write an article either on the apology OR on the vehicle, and it is a net gain to Tesla's PR (or worst case he writes no article, and you still don't wind up with the negative PR we see here).
Instead now we have a company which may punish journalists and critics.
I love how you twist facts to make it sound like the event didn't start an hour and a half late.
I'm also not saying it was right for Tesla to ban him, that was shitty, but getting so angry over a late start and ranting about it in a blog post directed at Elon also wasn't a great choice.
I don't really have sympathy for anyone who thinks having to wait a little bit is grounds for someone else to be "ashamed" and to write TWO blog posts complaining about it.
He's a VC so he's used to people treating him like a king. He gets mildly inconvenienced one time and suddenly that's everyone else's problem? Nah, screw him. I would have done the same thing in Musk's shoes.
I mean, the VC wrote his original post as a direct personal attack and then distributed it in public on a widely-read platform. That's pretty nuclear. In ascending order of severity he could have:
- Contacted Tesla directly
- Written to Elon Musk directly, privately
- Written a blog post about his crappy experience at the event
- Tweeted Elon with a link to his blog post
All of which might have made him feel better about wasting his evening and maybe got him some compensation (jumping a few places in the waitlist, or something) while not being actually offensive.
Honest to god, some people are insufferable blowhards. Sure, the event started late, sure Elon might have acknowledged that, but if he thinks that (a) any of this matters enough to write TWO articles about and (b) that anyone really cares what he thinks, he's deluding himself. Moreover, he just looks like a complete fool for posting this kind of garbage and expecting a positive response.
Edit: I think I was right. Here's the direct quote from first paragraph: I also hear that you are not comfortable having me own a Tesla car and have cancelled my order for a Tesla Model X. Maybe you read a phantom "I" between 'and' and 'have'?
Is that even legal?
In general, cancelling and refunding orders is legal; there are cases where it is not legal (e.g., where it is done to implement a policy of discrimination on a legally-protected basis in something which is legally considered a public accommodation), but in general its perfectly legal.