Reports are now centering on Tesla's 2016-released video regarding its self-driving capabilities present in the car, with a senior Autopilot engineer claiming that the video was fake. Tesla's director of the Autopilot software, Ashok Elluswamy, claimed this under oath in 2018, amidst the trial against Tesla which caused an Apple engineer's death using its electric car.
The Autopilot engineer further said that some elements in the video were edited by the company to make the EV look like it can handle the automated driving features on the street, where in reality, it was not yet ready.
Tesla's 2016 Self-Driving Video was Fake
(Photo : Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Ars Technica reported that a testimony from the 2018 lawsuit by Ashok Elluswamy, that the said 2016 video was fake and edited by the team. The Autopilot engineer and executive claimed this under oath, as per the trial against Tesla's system which caused the accident.
It resulted in a fatality, with Apple's engineer, Walter Huang, meeting his fate inside a Tesla EV after a horrible crash.
The video in question is one of Tesla's most famous showcases in 2016, the self-driving demonstration which showed a person sitting inside the vehicle, in the driver's seat, but not intervening the software's drive. The almost four-minute video clip is a sped-up version of the person's entire trip, with Rolling Stone's "Paint it Black" playing in the background.
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Autopilot Director Claims It was Edited
According to Ars, Elluswamy claimed that the part of the video that was edited by the team was when the vehicle was stopping for the red light, and accelerating again then it turned green.
The director of the Autopilot software said that it was faked by the company, but did not say the reason for their actions. It was one key promotional material of Tesla for its vehicles' self-driving capabilities, also shared by Elon Musk.
Tesla and its Autonomous Features
For the longest time now, Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk have been marketing the Full-Self Driving and Autopilot features as one of the safest autonomous driving systems in the world. The latest version number kept v10.69 for now, and it mainly centers on the tech CEO's love for the meme number and focuses on updates for this specific version.
Its fully-autonomous driving feature, the FSD, claims to have the capabilities to take on regular tasks and drives from humans, with challenging ventures including unprotected left turns or crossing intersections.
However, towards the latter part of 2022, there have been a series of crashes involving a Tesla, and it points to different culprits including the Autopilot, FSD, Phantom Braking, and more.
To date, it is still unknown whether Tesla's autonomous driving systems are the culprit, and agencies like the NHTSA and others are investigating the accidents involving the company's electric vehicles. Now, information regarding its self-driving system comes to light, with claims that Tesla has not been exactly honest with the public with its autonomous driving feats.
Related Article: Tesla Crashes Now Under Investigation by NHTSA-Autopilot, FSD the Culprits?
