Tesla demands removal of video of cars hitting child-size mannequins
The cease-and-desist letter from Tesla leaned on an investigation by the news site
Electrek, which alleged Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” Beta “never engaged” during the Dawn Project’s test using mannequins. Aspects of the report have since come into question, after the Dawn Project pointed to raw data and other information indicating Full Self-Driving was activated during the demonstrations.
“The purported tests misuse and misrepresent the capabilities of Tesla’s technology, and disregard widely recognized testing performed by independent agencies as well as the experiences shared by our customers,” Tesla deputy general counsel Dinna Eskin wrote in the letter dated Aug. 11, the day after the Electrek article.
The letter demands the campaign immediately remove the videos and accused the group of “unsafe and improper use” of FSD Beta. “Your actions actually put consumers at risk,” Tesla alleged.
Cease-and-desist orders sometimes precede a lawsuit, but can also be used to convince an opponent to back down under the threat of legal action.
O’Dowd dismissed the order.
“This letter is so pathetic in terms of whining: Mr. Free Speech Absolutist, just a crybaby hiding behind his lawyers,” O’Dowd said in an interview. (Musk has said he supports free speech and welcomes criticism.)
O’Dowd said he did not intend to take down the video commercial, and instead pledged more money into the effort.
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