
Banned by Tesla - gcoguiec
https://medium.com/@salsop/banned-by-tesla-8d1f3249b9fb#.f5lddvddz
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Someone1234
The article or the proceeding one has an error:

> 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.

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scrumper
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.

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beau26
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.

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scrumper
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'?

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beau26
Good catch, I think you are correct!

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minimaxir
This is an article I thought was legitimately satire (why would _Elon Musk_
call a random person?) until I saw that said person is a VC.

The network of Silicon Valley's elite is _weird_.

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simonebrunozzi
I guess this "VC" guy lives in LA.

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sharemywin
I thought SV was all about customer feedback and refining your product. In
this case your marketing event for your product but still.

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scotty79
> I also hear that you are not comfortable having me own a Tesla car and have
> cancelled my order for a Tesla Model X.

Is that even legal?

~~~
dragonwriter
> 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.

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_pmf_
Can I please have the last 3 minutes of my life back?

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Kurimo
I wouldn't want him as a customer (or anything) either. I regret even reading
his posts.

~~~
Someone1234
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.

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skorecky
The guy left at 9:00, 15 minutes after they started the event. Doesn't sound
like he even tried to see it.

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Someone1234
He arrived 30 minutes before it was due to start and stayed an hour and a
half. Not unreasonable.

I love how you twist facts to make it sound like the event didn't start an
hour and a half late.

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skorecky
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.

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rocky1138
First world problems.

