CBS News apologizes for dubbing engine noise over silent Tesla motor on '60 Minutes'

CBS has apologized to Tesla for adding engine sound effects to its report last week on the electric car.

An editor for the “60 Minutes” program made what CBS News described as an “audio error” for dubbing in the sound of a traditional motor over footage of the whisper-quiet Tesla automobile.

A spokesman for the network said last week that the loud car audio was edited out of the online version of the March 30 report on Tesla founder Elon Musk.

The network said anchor Scott Pelley was unaware of the dubbed-in audio.

A writer for the Jalopnik website noticed the car sounded almost like a motorcycle during the report, prompting the CBS News apology.

Tesla had no comment on the added audio.

The venerable news magazine placed correspondent Lara Logan on leave after an internal investigation questioned her reporting and objectivity on a story about the attack on Benghazi.

Critics have also questioned “60 Minutes” reporting on the National Security Agency and Amazon.

The New York Times also drew criticism for a correspondent’s test drive of the electric car, reporting that the vehicle performed poorly in cold weather.

But the automaker used the car’s electronics to examine its performance during the test drive, and Musk tried to discredit the report.

The newspaper’s ombudsmen also criticized the correspondent’s reporting.