Being a former U.S. President has its perks, but unlimited time to do whatever you want is not one of them.
During a recent green technology roundtable in Burbank, California, Bill Clinton said he was looking forward to taking a spin in the Tesla roadster that was on display. A Tesla employee quickly offered Clinton the keys, but Secret Service agents stepped in and denied Bill the drive saying he had to move on to another commitment.
Earlier in the presentation, Clinton called Tesla, "a shining example of the green tech movement," according to a post on the company's blog.
In related news, a report on Valleywag claims that Tesla's former Vice President of Marketing Darryl Siry quit after learning that Tesla was going to start taking deposits for its Model S sedan. The site claims that Siry considered it fraud to take money from customers for a car that existed only on paper. Tesla is counting on Department of Energy loans to fund the development of the Model S and the construction of a factory in which to build the electric sedan.
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redliner says:
08:27 AM, 02/27/09
Who's really in control here, Clinton or his goons?
firstwagon says:
11:50 AM, 02/27/09
Why would an ex-President have secret service agents with him?
estreka says:
12:03 PM, 02/27/09
Presidents have access to a lot of secret squirrel type stuff. That information must be protected.
firstwagon says:
12:06 PM, 02/27/09
Guess that makes sense in the US. Here in Canada there's not a lot of security around the present Prime Minister, I doubt there is any around past PM's.
billt9 says:
05:29 PM, 02/27/09
the us president is the supreme leader of the world _war_ against terror.
Nobody knows what the canadian leader does.
firstwagon says:
05:35 PM, 02/27/09
"Nobody knows what the canadian leader does."
His job which is running the country... not trying to rule the world.
" world _war_ against terror."
No one has believed that in years.
steve_ says:
08:01 PM, 02/28/09
I'm waiting for Tesla to announce the HHO version so they can tout some more stock sales.
bbechtel16 says:
03:48 PM, 03/ 1/09
Haha...I think (hope) billt's comment was tounge-in-check.
firstwagon says:
04:00 PM, 03/ 1/09
whoops
antonlash says:
04:05 PM, 03/ 2/09
Maybe the President should enter The Rundown's contest for a free Roadster test drive...
http://www.rundown.com/article.php?article_id=455&article_title=Give-\%27Em-The-Rundown...and-win