Mystery Solved? CNBC Reporter drives Tesla up I-95 without incident

Thanks to a friendly neighbor up north, I think we can say the Model S runs great over long distances and in the cold, eh?

CNBC's Philip LeBeau reporter made the trek up I-95, in the cold, and documented the drive on CNBC's website. It's fun to watch, and you can see his report here.

Range anxiety? What range anxiety? Car works great!

The same trip that vexed, flustered and flummoxed New York Times Reporter John Broder was a lovely jaunt for LeBeau.

With 61 miles to go until the next charging station in Milford Connecticut, LeBeau is calm composed. "I know I have at least 110 miles of battery charge to go."

And charge away he does. "One thing stands out" says LeBeau. "This is a car that you can drive over long distances, but you've got to manage."

Yeah. Just like with a gas-powered car. It's an internal combustion engine, not a perpetual motion machine. And we, as a society, are much more like to have a gasoline shortage than an electricity shortage.

But the promise of LeBleu's story is about so much more than a spat about batteries. Tesla Motors offers the promise of fresh air. Fresh, clean air in and around our major cities and transportation hubs.

Think about. No more children wheezing as they clutch their asthma inhalers. A drastic reduction in the number of strokes and heart attacks among the elderly. No more smog.

But what of the doubters? The New York Times is still unapologetic for John Broder's Model S meltdown. Three days after CNBC broadcast LeBeau's trek from D.C. to Boston, the Grey Lady published an article about the firestorm Broder had created. "After a charging system test, a debate rages online," said the article, viewable here. It quoted various twitter feeds and blog postings. The article did not mention the Model S's flawless performance when objectively operated.

What can be said to doubters of this promising new technology? Perhaps I shall leave the last word on this matter to Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

"The good thing about science," he says, "is that it is true whether or not you believe it."

Thanks, Neil. Call me biased, but I'm going with science on this one.

The case of the New York Times and the too-hot-to-trot Tesla.

It's fast. It's beautiful. It's Motor Trend's 2013 Car of the Year.

The Model S: Fast, fun, and I'm willing to bet, reliable.

Stylish. Sexy. Pretty. And Practical. 265 Miles on a single charge. Seats Five, emits zero. If I ever feel so inclined as to buy a car again, it may be a Tesla. Nearly every person privileged to get behind the wheel of one these things is blown away by its power, it's finesse, and its practicality.

Until last week's "review" about the Tesla Model S in the New York Times. In case you missed it, in"Stalled on the E.V. Highway," John Broder writes about freezing temperatures, misleading battery information, and a car that just doesn't wan't to drive very far or very long.

In less time than it takes a Tesla Roadster to go from zero to sixty miles an hour, Tesla CEO Elon Musk cried foul. Unbeknowst to Times reporter Broder, Tesla has a little black box that records the drivers every action. Needless to say, what Broder said didn't match up with the details on the black box.

So who are we left to believe in this fiasco? Is the New York Times, a publication not known for its automotive reporting, making a fair call here? Or is Elon Musk fabricating information to save his image before his public persona bursts into flames like rear-ended Ford Pinto?

As someone who has lived along the "Electric Highway" for the better part of three decades, I feel uniquely suited to offer my own analysis into the situation.

During Broder's odyssey, he writes that he is stranded with virtually zero battery power in Groton, Connecticut. He says he had intended to drive to New York City, with a stop in Milford, Connecticut to recharge.  What was Broder to do?"

Finally! A car faster than Wayne LaPierre's mouth!

"The Tesla people found an E.V. charging facility that Norwich Public Utilities had recently installed," wrote Broder. "Norwich . . . was only 11 miles away, though in the opposite direction from Milford."

Stop right there. I know my cardinal directions, and I know my Connecticut towns. Norwich is north of Groton; Milford, to Groton's west. North and west are not opposites. That should be obvious.

And Norwich isn't exactly an inconvenient detour from Groton. Norwich is a railroad and highway hub for Southeastern Connecticut, which is probably why Tesla chose to put a charging station in that town. Once the car was recharged, I-395 conveniently allows any driver from all points south and east to "backtrack," as I-395 forms the hypotenuse of a high-speed roadway right tringle. Instead of heading south back towards Groton, the driver is headed Southwest towards Milford, linking up with I-95 in East Lyme.

Dude, why do you have so much trouble driving your car?

I can understand being confused about adapting to a car with an all-electric fuel source and drivetrain, but confusing basic directions like east and west? 

But that's just me talking. Perhaps the best question comes from another New York Times reader, who wonders why Broder didn't have any problems with the Model S after re-charging in Milford.

Broder doesn't answer, but it appears that one of three responses could accurately describe the situation:

a) The Model S got better . . . by magic!
b) Broder learned how to better drive the Model S.
c) Broder had made his a point about his preconceived distaste for the Model S, and wanted to get home as quickly as possible. 

I'm guessing C. I'm going with countless reviews from other automotive sources, Elon Musk's previous success in the electronic industry, and my own, Connecticut born-and-raised common sense. It's a great car.

What do you think?