Jeremy Clarkson’s war with Elon Musk gets ugly

A TV star’s bitter feud with Elon Musk has gone up a gear after he penned a stinging piece lashing out at “deluded fools” who supported Tesla as sales plummet.

Former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has declared victory over Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, reigniting a feud that has simmered for years.

Writing in the The Times, Clarkson says “victory is mine” as Tesla’s sales, share price and desirability fall across the world.

Widespread vandalism of Tesla vehicles in the US comes as sales of Tesla have fallen by about 70 per cent in major markets such as the US and Germany.

Reuters reports that the number of Tesla vehicles being traded in has more than tripled compared to the same period last year.

Reminding readers that Musk was “so touchy he filed a lawsuit when I gave him a bad review”, Clarkson questions “how will he cope now that the eco hippies who used to idolise him have turned on his cars?”

Musk’s legal complaint about Musk and Clarkson shot to prominence in 2020 when the auto executive appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

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TV host Jeremy Clarkson, from TV documentary series 'Top Gear'. Picture: BBC

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Musk claimed that one of his engineers saw a pre-written script saying “the car breaks down” when he dropped off the original Tesla ahead of its time on Top Gear.

Two Tesla Roadsters failed to proceed during filming.

Musk claimed that “The car never broke down. They just pretended that it did” and sued Top Gear unsuccessfully.

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Clarkson’s review of the Tesla Roadster sparked controversy. Picture: Supplied

Returning serve in his weekend column, Clarkson said Musk “lost the case, and the appeal, and he’s never really got over it”.

“He still claims I was biased and that we pretended his car had broken down when it hadn’t. Even though it had.

“I should really have sued him back, but I feared he’d call me a paedo, so instead I just waited on the river bank for his body to float past. And now it has.”

The TV superstar, who is set to film a new motoring show on Amazon alongside former Top Gear hosts James May and Richard Hammond, said he felt sorry for “deluded fools” who bought a Tesla.

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President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Photo: Mandel NGAN / AFP

“They made their purchasing decision in good faith and work hard to make the payments each month,” Clarkson wrote.

“Even though I think it’s nothing more than a wheeled white good, it’s their pride and joy. So it’s not fair for someone with hairy armpits and no job to set fire to it.”

Originally published as Jeremy Clarkson’s war with Elon Musk gets ugly