Al Roker’s Tesla refuses to work properly, again
They Musk be getting sick and tired of it!
Al Roker and his wife, veteran ABC broadcaster Deborah Roberts, seem to have hopped on the Tesla craze and picked up one of the futuristic electric cars — but may well be regretting it.
Page Six has now received not one but two reports of the weatherman and newswoman doing full-scale battle with their Model X on the streets of New York.
Back in November, we reported that Roker — who has documented a series of recent health struggles on the “Today” show — was rushed to the hospital, leaving his Emmy-winning journalist wife to follow in their car.
But it appeared that the Tesla’s doors wouldn’t work, forcing Roberts to attempt to break into it to retrieve her cellphone and then take a cab to the medical facility.
“His wife, Deborah, was understandably very upset,” said a source at the time. “She had left her phone and other possessions inside their Tesla, which had malfunctioned and wouldn’t unlock, so she was trying to smash in a window.”
Seems the pair may have be longing for a good old-fashioned internal combustion engine once more over the weekend.
Page Six spies say Roker and Roberts had brunch at chic spot Marks on Madison with pals on Sunday morning. (We’re also told a fellow “Today” legend, ousted CNN boss Jeff Zucker, was enjoying a convivial repast there at a different table.)
But when Roker and Roberts paid up and went to hop into their sporty little Nintendo-with-wheels, our unforgivably amused source said that one of car’s trademark gull-wing doors wouldn’t close.
“Al was sitting in the car trying everything he could think of to get the door to close,” said a mimosa-sipping source.
The diner said the “Today” star seemed to make a call before manhandling the door closed (which, the source noted, “may not be great for a car with motorized doors”), and eventually got it working properly.
A source close to Roker told us the problem was a piece of cardboard blocking a sensor.
Oddly enough, it’s not the first time we’ve reported on the pair being in an automotive pickle. In 2019, sources told us they got their Jaguar stuck in a hole while apple picking in Massachusetts, and had to be towed out.
