James May: “You’d struggle to see Elon Musk as a co-host with us”…
Top Gear and The Grand Tour star James May sat down with Al Arabiya News presenter Tom Burges Watson for an exclusive interview, discussing the possibility of a reunion, his thoughts on Elon Musk, and the future of cars.
True to form, the motoring maverick was refreshingly blunt, joking about a potential reunion without Jeremy Clarkson by quipping, “He was probably busy,” before later adding that his pub is superior to Clarkson’s. May also reflected on a generational shift in car culture, explaining why he believes it’s time for a younger, fresher approach to motoring TV. One that can eventually take their place.
On the trio of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and himself reuniting for a reunion:
“Well, I’m afraid it’s not a reunion. The Not Very Grand Tour is essentially a best of compilation hosted from the studio by me and Richard Hammond. Jeremy Clarkson wasn’t available for some reason, but we’re all in the clips. It’s all things you’ve seen before, but chopped up in a different way. We recorded it a while back. I can’t remember why he couldn’t be there. He was probably busy.”
When asked when in the past he’s said he wasn’t a fan of comebacks:
“Well, there’s nothing wrong with the comeback, but there comes a point where you have to draw a line under it. And as we used to say, land it safely rather than crash it. We’ve exhausted our take on the subject. It’s probably time for a more modern one and we’re already pretty old. So if we did a comeback in 20 years time, it would be in bath chairs, and I think it would be rather unseemly. I really don’t see it happening.”
On the topic of electric vehicles and attacks on Teslas and Elon Musk:
“I have a Tesla and I’m on my second Tesla, in fact, and I can’t really remember a time when a car mark was seen as a political weapon or a political enemy. I mean, when I was a child, there were people who wouldn’t buy German cars or Japanese cars because of World War Two. But, you know, they were very old people even then. But it hasn’t really happened in my time as a car journalist.
“I find it a bit odd, to be honest, because yes, I accept that people have objections to Elon Musk’s involvement in American politics, but why is that being taken out on a private individual’s car in the UK, or anywhere else in the world, for that matter, but it strikes me as just pure vandalism or terrorism light. I have to say, nobody’s dragged me out of mine yet and taken me to the gallows or anything like that and nobody set fire to it or written Nazi on it.”
“I like electric cars, but I didn’t buy a Tesla because I admired Elon Musk so much. I really admired the work of his engineers. and I bought it as a car, not as a statement.”
On Elon Musk being a potential co-presenter in the future:
“Well, I think he would be quite biased, to be honest. So I think you would struggle to sell that. I mean, especially if it was on Top Gear on the BBC, I think that would be regarded as against the charter. So no, I suspect he’s quite busy anyway.
“I think commentators on cars in the future have to be people in their, I mean ideally in their 20s. who are looking at the world through the eyes of a new generation and, you know, who are its inheritors. And they must be out there somewhere. There are millions and millions and millions of people in the world, and there are still quite a few people who are interested in cars and the whole transport picture. Somewhere amongst those, you need three or four that can be put together to make a TV show. I don’t believe it’s that difficult.”
About the next generation being interested in cars and future of the industry:
“In all honesty, no, I don’t think they are on the whole, they have many more distractions and plenty that we didn’t have. I think the car has never been at a more interesting time in its evolution apart from the time when it was invented, I suppose. So there should be lots to say about it, about the way it’s being used, the way it’s been made, you know, the connectivity of them. but I’m not quite sure how you do it.
“I mean, I try, I’ve written a few things about the future of cars and electric cars and so on, but it really takes, I think it will take some people in their 20s or early 30s with a very modern mindset and you can address sort of what you’re alluding to, what the interest of today’s young is in cars. It’s going to be a different angle from the one we had, but I am sure it must be there somewhere. I can’t believe that car TV has come to an end.”
On the future of cars in general:
“I think we’ve arrived at a time when we have to reassess the car and how we use it. Now, I say this as someone who loves cars because I do, but I feel we should use them with discretion and carefully so that they are not ultimately taken away from us, not by the man or government or anything like that, but by the weight of public opinion.
“I don’t think cars are very effective in towns and cities. I think they’re actually a great way of getting between them. But around town they’re clutter and I don’t drive in London if I can possibly avoid it. The only time I take the car into London is if I’ve got to collect something really big like a vase or a dining chair or something. The rest of the time I use public transport and bicycles because it’s, to be honest, it’s quicker.”
And finally, as he and Jeremy Clarkson both own pubs, Burges Watson asked, who was the better landlord?:
“Mine’s much better. I think that’s the main difference. I haven’t actually been to Jeremy’s pub. I’ve met a few people who have. It sounds like, well, from what I can gather, he’s gone for a sort of mass throughput model.
“So he’s got hundreds of people queuing up to have his burger, whereas ours is a little bit more relaxed. It’s a village pub where people come. The food is great. We’ve got a fabulous chef and team of chefs. So mine would feel more like, more like a regular English pub. It’s not, it’s not old fashioned. He hasn’t got horse brass on the walls or any of that tweezer. There’s no Morris dancing. I won’t allow that. It is just a pub.”
Watch the full interview here
