Jeremy Clarkson is relishing his ongoing feud with Elon Musk as Tesla faces a mounting backlash. The former Top Gear host doesn’t hold back in his latest column, calling Musk an “idiot” and declaring that the situation has turned “hilarious.”
Writing for London’s Sunday Times, Clarkson shared his thoughts on the recent surge of attacks against Tesla. “The sudden global decision to uncrowdfund Tesla and break off as many of its car mirrors as possible is not funny,” Clarkson wrote. “But also, it’s kinda hilarious. Especially if you’re me.”
Clarkson’s tension with Musk dates back to 2008 when he gave a “firm but fair” review of Tesla’s Roadster. Musk was furious and sued Clarkson for defamation, claiming that Clarkson had a bias against electric cars and had written the review without even driving the car.
“Musk was very angry about this and sued us for defamation, claiming I had a problem with electric cars and had written the piece before even setting foot in the car,” Clarkson explained. “He lost the case, and the appeal, and he’s never really got over it.”
Clarkson pointed out that Musk still claims the review was unfair, arguing that they pretended the car had broken down when it hadn’t, despite the fact that it actually had.
“I should really have sued him back,” Clarkson wrote. “But I feared he’d call me a pedo, so instead, I just waited on the river bank for his body to float past. And now it has.”
The “pedo” comment refers to Musk’s infamous 2018 tweet calling British cave diver Vernon Unsworth a “pedo guy” after Unsworth helped rescue 12 boys from a Thai cave. Musk later faced a defamation lawsuit from Unsworth, but the courts sided with Musk, arguing that the tweet didn’t cause enough harm.
In his piece, Clarkson also noted the physical attacks now targeting Tesla vehicles and dealerships, adding that things had gotten so bad that a friend of his had put a sticker on his Tesla, saying he bought it before realizing Musk was an “idiot.”
Clarkson added, “Of course, I’d love to remind all you Tesla drivers that I warned you 17 years ago that no good would come of your buying choice. But you didn’t listen. You chose to believe Mr. Musk.”
