Test Cars At Random In While Still In Transit, Say Elon Musk

by Industry Week | Technology

"The obvious move is to pick cars at random and then test the emission in transit," said Musk at the unveiling of Tesla's new plant in the Netherlands.

* Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, during the test of Tesla's Model S in 2014

If there is anyone who should be laughing over the recent scandal involving Volks Wagen, the Boss of Tesla, Elon Musk should be the one - or at least be on the lead of the list.  But he is not.

Instead, Tesla's CEO has called for random testing of fossil fuel automobiles while on the road, Industry Week reported Friday. Musk spoke during the opening of a new Tesla factory in the Netherlands.

The CEO of electric car manufacturing company Tesla said : "The obvious move is to pick cars at random and then test the emission in transit," adding "Clearly emissions-testing needs to be more rigorous."

His comments come in the wake of last week's revelations that Volkswagen equipped 11 million of its diesel cars worldwide with smart software that can prevent the detection of emissions "except when it detects the vehicle is undergoing official testing."

The scandal forced the exit of VW's former CEO, Martin Winterkorn, on Thursday, just one day to the renewal of his contract. He has been replaced by Matthias Müller since Friday, 25.09.15.

The scandal itself broke in the nick of time, putting highlight on Tesla - only three weeks after it was awarded the best rating by Consumer Report and just as it's first batch of commercial cars are rolled out of the factory.

"What we're seeing with diesel is that we've hit the limit," IW reports.

Tesla's new factory in Netherlands is its first in Europe and according to the IW the factory will be able to produce 450 high-end electrical cars a week.

He said he believed the German car giant "was under a lot of pressure to make improvements" in emission levels "and ran into a physical wall."

Britain has also announced it will embark on auto-testing in the wake of the recent allegations.