A journalist and former Volkswagen PR guy by the name of Bertel Schmitt somewhat infamously declared last year that he would eat his hat if Tesla managed to release an Autopilot feature allowing for autonomous lane changing within one year (in a Model S 70D, P85D, etc).
To be more precise, he even stated that he would do so publicly on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. And that it would be a Tesla baseball cap at that.
So what’s the holdup? When’s this happening? Apparently, never, because (as the title of this article implies) the guy is trying to weasel his way out of it. He’s apparently gone as far as to block some of the people on the Tesla Motors Club forums who have been hounding him about it on Twitter, apparently even calling some of them “Tesla goons.” 🙂
Calling someone out on something they’ve said in the past makes them a goon, huh? I don’t get it myself. If he doesn’t have the b@!!s to do it, why not simply own up to the mistake and apologize? Why so much antagonism about it?
Now some may be saying right now: “Well it’s just a figure of expression, he shouldn’t be held to it” — but it should probably be noted here that the Werner Herzog did indeed eat his boot* after making (and losing) a similar bet. So, some people do actually honor their word. Just not everyone.
Hat tip to everyone on the TMC forums for this. And to bonnie for the screen capture.
*Boiled with garlic, herbs, and stock, for 5 hours, for those wondering. It should be noted that he didn’t eat the sole, explaining that “one does not eat the bones of the chicken.”