I said, “Of course not, that sounds f*****g shady.”
Remember watching or reading a review of the Vinfast VF8 last year around April and May that seemed almost too positive? This might be a good reason why.
Embed from Getty ImagesCalifornia-based car journalist and podcaster Matt Farah revealed that Vinfast offered him a cool $10,000 on top of a multi-day trip to Vietnam just to drive pre-production models of their new electric SUV, the Vinfast VF8 and VF9.
Check out that part of his podcast below.
Starting in April 2022 and several times since then, Vinfast flew out, according to their Instagram post, hundreds of car journalists, influencers, and VIPs to Vietnam for a multi-day trips crafted to not only showcase the best of Vietnam but to give them a chance to preview and test drive their VF8 and VF9.
It looks like Farah was on the fence about the whole trip as, according to how he remembered them trying to nudge him in the right direction.
“I was invited to that Vinfast thing, and I was offered $10,000. Come, and we’ll give you $10,000 on top of this thing.“
“And I said, “Of course not, that’s f***ing shady.”
It’s not uncommon in the automotive industry to wine and dine media to various extents. Automakers need to get journalists and influencers to test out their new makes and models so, why not make it as pleasant as possible?
Automakers get honest reviews and journalists enjoy a perk of the job as long as they disclose they’ve been hosted accordingly.
Here’s an example of said disclosure from a Jalopnik contributor who was a part of Vinfast’s multi-day trip.
It’s one thing to fly out a bunch of people but, to offer a large cash gift, too?
Sounds an awful lot like that word that rhymes with….tribe.
The hallmark of journalism is honesty and, to offer that much money and not expect the author’s opinion to remain unbiased is questionable.
“Not only are we not ethically for it (accepting $10K,)” Farah further explained, “…but it also sounded very shady and his piece covered exactly why that I thought it would be shady.”
It’s not clear if other journalists and influencers were offered similar or even larger cash gifts, but it’s not hard to imagine Farah wasn’t the only one who needed a little nudging.
Farah’s experience is just something to keep in mind the next time you read a Vinfast car review.
VinFast shouldn’t even try to compete with Tesla.
There are rumors spreading about how VinFast Electric Car is trying to surpass Tesla.
I even hear they are going to try and sell them at goodwill! What a bargain!
Will VinFast beat Tesla? Most would think so, especially with all of the advertising provided by the American mainstream media. This includes endorsements from that creep in the white house.
Well either it will be a joke car or a fake car. Who knows what will happen between these two companies.
In the meantime, I am still waiting for the Goodwill announcement ???
Hey guy, you may trouble if you said those things in Vietnam. Fortunately, you are not Vietnamese
If you are a Vietnamese that live in Vietnam, and say any thing bad about VinFast or their car – even a minor valid complain about the car – you will get invite to police station for a chat.
VinFast is a state ‘sponsor’ company in Vietnam.
That is b*******! ??? I’m Vietnamese and a lot of haters said bad things about Vinfast but they are fine!
As I understand that Vinfast offer this Journalist $10000 to drive and reviewed the car which is a very comments thing in the industry. The famous Supercar Blondie was also offered hundred thousands of dollars to review cars from BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, etc… They didn’t tell them to write only good about their brand right? If he is honest journalist ,he can choose to review as he will. Vìnfast is famous for its generosity. They give him opportunities to test out a new brand and appreciate his reviewed experience by inviting him to Vietnam and opening his mind to a new brand. Who knows this journalist is just an ash**le, I guess it is not shady if he gets the same offer from Tesla, BMW, and Mercedes. Those things are shady if they are from Asian and they are generous when it came from Westerns. ?
The buxxxxx one is you. You are side with the communist and said all lies things. Vìnfast is sponsored by high range communist officers , everyone in Việt Nam knows about that And we not even talk about how Vìnfast try to get in to IPO systems that they was failed and now they try to shake hands with that Macau Casino Tycon try to get in to IPO system again. Even try to inflated the company value to 24 billions dollars FAKES value. Their try ro prove to the world they are rich but the company it owns sink in to 8 billions debts. Explain me how could a company sink to negative 8 billions of debts and company value only 4 billions now become a 26 billions value in market? All FAKES number try to lure people buy them stocks, they try to get more money before the ship completed sinks. I remembered a quote from a reviewer : Vinfast should invest more in the qualities then crazy spending on the reviewer , ticktocker , youtuber now. And many Vietnamese know it aoftware problems that can cause driver’s life, including about multiple fires that happen of the car either only parking inoperate or operating car, there was a case driver couldnt get out the Vinfast car because malfunction door lock and get burned till death ( no investigation after incident). Stop cover all fault of the car , it murder.. You communist if you want serious business, then fix your car perfetly safety becfore delivery it to consumers