<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1661441337222,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017c-2d8e-d3f3-a7fc-7ffef6720000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1661441337222,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017c-2d8e-d3f3-a7fc-7ffef6720000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_61441326", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1083127"} }); ","_id":"00000182-d59e-daa4-a5d3-ddfedc4a0000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedTesla has demanded that an anti-self-driving car organization take down videos of its cars hitting child-sized mannequins.
The electric car company said in a letter sent to the Dawn Project, an organization opposed to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving feature, that its recent commercial campaign attacking the software is defamatory and must be pulled down. It is the latest in a series of spats between Tesla and the Dawn Project over the safety and viability of its self-driving software.
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“While [founder David O’Dowd] and The Dawn Project purport to advocate for safety, the videos portray unsafe and improper use of FSD Beta and active safety features,” wrote Tesla Senior Director and Deputy General Counsel Dinna Eskin in a letter released by Dawn Project CEO Dan O’Dowd. “Your actions actually put consumers at risk.”
The Dawn Project released ads calling for Congress to ban Tesla’s Full Self-Driving on Aug. 9, with footage featuring several Tesla vehicles striking child mannequins at full speed while also using Full Self-Driving. The letter was sent on Aug. 11 to O’Dowd and released to the public on Thursday.
Eskin attempted to counter O’Dowd’s narrative by noting that earlier tests from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety confirmed the software’s safety and said that the Dawn Project failed to activate Full Self-Driving during its ads properly and may have deceptively manipulated its footage.
O’Dowd, the CEO of Green Hills Software, dismissed the cease-and-desist. “Master Scammer Musk threatens to sue me over a tv ad,” tweeted O’Dowd on Thursday. “Turns out Mr. Free Speech Absolutist is just another crybaby hiding behind his lawyer’s skirt. Guess I hurt his wittle feewings.”
The CEO attempted to run for Senate in 2022 on a single-issue campaign of opposition to Tesla’s self-driving software, intending to broaden the campaign to cover an assortment of cybersecurity topics. O’Dowd only received 1.1% of the votes in the June 24 California Democratic primary. That has not stopped O’Dowd from continuing to rally against the electric car company over its driving software. He has released several clips on social media alleging that the self-driving software is not safe enough for public use.
Tesla’s history regarding the reliability of its self-driving software is reasonably well established. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced in February that it would investigate more than 400,000 Teslas after receiving 354 complaints about phantom braking. Its investigation could result in a recall, possibly the eighth recall in 2022. Several crashes have involved Tesla’s Full Self-Driving in recent years, with the first felony charges involving the auto-software being filed in January.
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This is not the first time that Tesla has attempted to restrict footage of its Full Self-Driving software. The company fired a former Autopilot employee in February after he shared video reviews of the software on Youtube.
