header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
15 March 2013
Issue: 7552 / Categories: Case law , Law reports , In Court
printer mail-detail

Libel and slander—Particulars—Defamatory meaning

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Tesla Motors Ltd and another v British Broadcasting Corporation [2013] EWCA Civ 152, [2013] All ER (D) 16 (Mar)

Court of Appeal, Civil Division, Maurice Kay VP, Moore-Bick and Rimer LJJ, 5 Mar 2013

The BBC programme Top Gear did not make the general public believe that the manufacturer of an electric car had grossly misled potential purchasers of the vehicle about its range and accordingly had not libeled the manufacturer.

Richard Spearman QC and William McCormick QC (instructed by Carter-Ruck) for the claimants. Andrew Caldecott QC and Catrin Evans (instructed by BBC Litigation Department) for the defendant.

The claimants manufactured and distributed electric cars. They produced a vehicle known as the “Roadster”. During 2008, two Roadsters were reviewed by the Top Gear programme made by the defendant. The film, which lasted about 10 minutes, was included in the edition of the programme broadcast on 14 December 2008. It had since been shown on several television channels on several occasions and remained available to view on the Top Gear

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll