Tesla promoting self-driving video was staged

[Tam]

Today, Reuters reported the deposition from Ashok Elluswamy, Director of Autopilot software, that the 2016 video was staged and it did collide with the fence while auto parking.

Tesla video promoting self-driving was staged, engineer testifies

A 2016 video that Tesla used to promote its self-driving technology was staged to show capabilities like stopping at a red light and accelerating at a green light that the system did not have, according to testimony by a senior engineer.

www.reuters.com

 

[whitex]

This was only a secret to fanboys, who probably still believe FSD is just around the corner, ready to go, just pending government regulations. 3 months maybe, 6 months for sure!

Those who can think rationally, called it out as a fake shortly after it came out.

 

[ElectricIAC]

Yknow, it’s kind of sad that I actually feel more comfortable with AP1 than the current iteration of AP3/FSDb.

 

[cbdream99]

Today, Reuters reported the deposition from Ashok Elluswamy, Director of Autopilot software, that the 2016 video was staged and it did collide with the fence while auto parking.

Tesla video promoting self-driving was staged, engineer testifies

A 2016 video that Tesla used to promote its self-driving technology was staged to show capabilities like stopping at a red light and accelerating at a green light that the system did not have, according to testimony by a senior engineer.

www.reuters.com

I always thought that video is green screen

 

[Watts_Up]

Yknow, it’s kind of sad that I actually feel more comfortable with AP1 than the current iteration of AP3/FSDb.

Don't an older Model S was involved in the recent San Francisco Bay Bridge incident? \
Any details about which Autopilot version was used?

 

[SouthFLGuy]

Tesla video promoting self-driving was staged, engineer testifies

A 2016 video that Tesla used to promote its self-driving technology was staged to show capabilities like stopping at a red light and accelerating at a green light that the system did not have, according to testimony by a senior engineer.

www.reuters.com

 

[jboy210]

Don't an older Model S was involved in the recent San Francisco Bay Bridge incident? \
Any details about which Autopilot version was used?

No idea, but one person speculated that the driver was not paying attention and when they did not respond to multiple warnings to put their hands on the wheel AP kicked off. and pulled off the side of the road, which was not there. Does anyone know if this the behavior in this situation?

 

[Tam]

...one person speculated that the driver was not paying attention and when they did not respond to multiple warnings to put their hands on the wheel AP kicked off. and pulled off the side of the road, which was not there. Does anyone know if this the behavior in this situation?

Not correct.

Tesla does not Auto Lane Change if the system does not get a response from the driver repeatedly. It would stop in the same lane and turn on the 4-way flashers.

 

[ThomasD]

Fake it till you make it

 

[Eno Deb]

Musk's Tweet promoting the video (the link doesn't work anymore, but the video is on Tesla's web site to this day):

https://twitter.com/x/status/789019145853513729

Over 6 years ago ...

 

[powertoold]

Pretty mind-blowing how much progress has been made in 6 years

 

[brkaus]

It's been said to have had a crash and it was multiple clips for sometime. This is the same info coming up again because of the trial.

(not that it makes it more or less relevant, but from what I recall it isn't new)

 

[electrifyme]

Elon is known for faking things. The solar tiles on those houses were all non functional at that time they presented it.

 

[Tam]

...it isn't new...

Prior to today, the info was just hearsay, she said, he said.

The report came out today is the first time that it was told under oath. Any lies under oath and the Tesla Director could face jail time.

 

[JulienW]

Still "not a pusher"

 

[eli_]

When they first demoed the OG Roadster, they had to discretely wheel them away to flush ice water through parts of the drivetrain because they were constantly overheating during demos.

 

[nate704]

“EV is the future”, says current administration,, “but not Tesla/Elon”.

Tesla staged 2016 self-driving demo, says senior Autopilot engineer – Ars Technica

Again, the story is not even confirmed/verified, but Tesla is already evil.

 

[TresLA]

Reading through the article, it doesn't seem necessarily as "bad" as the headline makes it. A few points I'd love others to refute if they have more info/data:

1. "Staged" meaning faked/fraudulent or just a controlled and monitored environment? The testimony provided in the article seems to fit the latter.
2. "Deployed" meaning "production vehicle" feature (that the public has access to) or just company owned test vehicles?
3. "Drivers intervened" meaning humans essentially drove the vehicle or humans intervened only when necessary?
4. "The route had been mapped in advance" meaning the car was just following a navigation route or.. what else could it mean and why would it be negative? This is essentially what autonomous driving means. Like, should you expect to get in a Waymo without giving it a destination and it should... do what?
5. Like the article says, Tesla always said the publicly available features "do not make the vehicle autonomous". But the article contradicts itself by also saying Tesla claimed in 2021 that "its electric vehicles can drive themselves"?

There's a lot of conflating test vehicle features with production vehicle features happening. Should other AV companies be prevented from posting demo videos of software not available to the public?

 

[Dantley]

The article's author, Johnathan M Gitlin (a pharmacologist), clearly has a hate-on for EVs in general and Tesla specficallly. Several articles hes' written have a recurring anti-EV theme.

 

[TriniB]

The deposition information is readily available and reported. Just have to remember the prosecution's leading questions are intended (as they are obligated to do) to paint Tesla in the most negative light; that's their job. That said, having used Autopilot a bit in my new 2023 MY, I have no doubt how significantly worse it and FSD would have been in 2016.
As an aside, I hope the code merge of the FSD with highway AP flows down to the people who only have AP.