2012 Tesla Model S beta vehicle, Fremont, CA, October 2011Enlarge Photo
Posted on 04/03/2014 8:17:14 AM PDT by Izzy Dunne
If you watched 60 Minutes on Sunday night--perhaps wondering whether the show would target the Tesla Model S electric car--you may have been relieved.
The segment, "Fast Cars and Rocket Ships," was nothing less than a laudatory paean to the vision and accomplishments of Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk.
MORE: Tesla's Lithium-Ion Battery Gigafactory: What You Need To Know
But you may also have noticed something odd.
The show used what appeared to be stock footage of the Tesla Model S cruising through scenic byways and along highways, with audio of what sounded suspiciously like engine noises--including one clearly audible downshift.
2012 Tesla Model S beta vehicle, Fremont, CA, October 2011Enlarge Photo
Ahem.
Many who saw the segment Sunday night commented on it, or Tweeted about it. Jalopnik wrote about it very shortly after it happened.
Now giant network CBS has essentially apologized for what was clearly a production goof.
As Media Bistro's TVnewser blog noted, "As an electric car, the Tesla Model S doesn’t make a typical engine noise, so the editor added some sound for effect."
Indeed.
"Our video editor made an audio editing error in our report about Elon Musk and Tesla," said a CBS statement yesterday. "We regret the error, and it is being corrected online.”
You can view the entire (corrected) 13-minute segment online, along with an article, Tesla and SpaceX: Elon Musk's Industrial Empire.
Meanwhile, it turns out that Sunday's 60 Minutes garnered 14.3 million viewers, which makes it one of the most popular network shows of the week.
But, a little note to TV producers assigned to cover Tesla Motors in the future: Electric cars don't upshift or downshift.
And while some of them may whine, they definitely don't make engine noises.
Just so you know.
“All the news (that fits our agenda), as fast as we can make it up”
It is standard practice in video productions to only record video in outdoor situations, then later add audio—car sounds, door closing sounds, foot fall sounds, etc.
This show how a typical “news” article is not news at all, rather just another work of fiction.
Electric cars run quiet. Perfect for stealth driving.
stupendously stupid! and dishonest... and deceitful... and disingenuous...
HOLY CRAP!!!
You would think they would have learned their lesson after getting caught ADDING MODEL ROCKET ENGINES to a vehicle to MAKE IT EXPLODE on impact!!!
What would the agenda be?
Were they trying to make the Tesla sound louder inside than it actually is?
I rode in one and the most obvious noise at cruise speeds was tires, similar to most lux cars.
Maybe my beloved TAG LINE can be attached to CBS.
It would have to read -—
CBS: We SHOW the news as it fits our views.
Nah...I like mine as it is.
Anyone who want to....claim the CBS version.
I know this is a thread about cbs and their bias goes without saying but at the risk of showing how ignorante I am can anyone explain how these electric car batteries are charged/recharged?
That was NBC. Same liberal MSM, different branch.
Once nanotech capacitors can be used as batteries, I might be interested in an electric car, but to replicate the amount of energy in a single gallon of gas requires a HUGE battery, even if it’s LIB.
The motor noise, and especially the downshift, make it sound more “sporty”.
Stealth until someone adds the THUMPA-THUMPA speakers and starts blaring rap. . .
just sayin’
And Dan Rather is still asking, “ Kenneth?”
as he smears GW Bush with a fake paper
some things never change
CBS as a POS network is one
So you don’t have to push your car to the convent when the Gestapo come to force an Navy commission on you and your musical brood?
I own an electric car. You quickly learn how dependent most pedestrians have become on hearing cars when they walk on side streets: No-one thinks twice of abruptly turning into the traffic lane if they don’t hear any traffic noise.
I love these “news” shows.
I’m really bummed to learn this. I’d love a Tesla Model S if it came with a V8 under the hood.
And no surprise. It's just standard operating procedure for today's media.
I wish electric cars made noise - you don’t realize how much you depend upon sound as an early safety warning until you’re nearly run down by Priuses a few dozen times.
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