Tesla allegedly misled in 2016 autopilot advertising

A video published in 2016 showing the Tesla Model X, illustrating the capabilities of autonomous driving technology, turned out to be staged. Reuters.

According to the transcript of testimony by Ashok Elluswamy, the former director of Autopilot software, the vehicle in the clip was driven by a driver. At that time, the robot car did not support stopping at red lights or moving on green, he said.

In July 2022, Elluswamy testified in the case по делу about a fatal crash that occurred in March 2018. As a result, an Apple engineer died.

The video, which in 2016 Elon Musk used to demonstrate the robot car’s autonomy, находится in the archive on the company’s website.

Tesla drives itself (no human input at all) thru urban streets to highway to streets, then finds a parking spot https://t.co/V2T7KGMPBo

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 20, 2016

«Tesla едет сама (без участия человека) по городским дорогам к шоссе и улицам, а затем находит место для парковки», — написал миллиардер.

According to Elluswamy, to create the video the developers used 3D-mapping of a predetermined route from a home in Menlo Park, California, to the company’s then-headquarters in Palo Alto.

During filming, drivers had to intervene and take control of the self-driving car. Also during a demonstration of “autonomous” parking, the test vehicle crashed into a fence.

«The aim of the video was not to show technologies available to customers in 2016. It demonstrated what could be built into the system», — said Elluswamy.

When asked whether the video showed Autopilot capabilities that were available in production cars in 2016, the former senior engineer said, “that’s not the case”.

According to attorney Andrew McDevitt, representing the wife of the Apple employee who died in the crash, the video “clearly misled” Tesla owners about Autopilot’s capabilities.

In December 2022, California authorities banned Tesla to call the autopilot Full Self-Driving.

In October, media reported a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the manufacturer’s advertising promises about Autopilot.

In August, American consumer advocate Ralph Nader called to ban the Full Self-Driving system owing to its “dangerous and irresponsible actions”.

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