A tech CEO has launched a Senate campaign motivated by his disapproval of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s “reckless deployment” of self-driving cars.
Green Hills Software CEO Dan O’Dowd announced his California Senate bid as a Democrat last week, citing Musk in the announcement.
“The first danger I am tackling is Elon Musk’s reckless deployment of unsafe Tesla Full Self-Driving cars on our roads,” O’Dowd tweeted.
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Today I launched my campaign for U.S. Senate to make computers safe for humanity.
The first danger I am tackling is @ElonMusk‘s reckless deployment of unsafe @Tesla Full Self-Driving cars on our roads.
Visit my campaign website here: https://t.co/cBxWFjyhwS#ODowdForSenate pic.twitter.com/LOqslbKCPf
— Dan O’Dowd (@RealDanODowd) April 19, 2022
On his campaign website, O’Dowd references a study that says a self-driving car is involved in a traffic citation-worthy error every eight minutes. It referred to Tesla’s full self-driving cars as “software at its most dangerous.”
“Ordinary commercial software was never intended to be used in systems which people’s lives depend on,” the software CEO’s website says.
Tesla did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced in February that it will investigate more than 400,000 Teslas after receiving 354 complaints about phantom braking. Its investigation could result in a recall, which would be the automaker’s fifth this year alone.
On Feb. 1, Tesla recalled more than 800,000 vehicles for an electrical problem that caused the audible seat belt chime to not activate on occasion. A week later, Tesla was directed to recall 26,000 vehicles over a windshield defrosting problem.
Tesla’s stock has not suffered, however, posting its highest quarterly profit to date Thursday and trading at nearly $1,035 a share.
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