Engineer Testifies That , Tesla Self-Driving , Promotional Video Was Staged.
NBC reports that a 2016 Tesla video used to promote
its self-driving technology was allegedly staged to
demonstrate capabilities that the system did not have. .
According to the testimony of a senior engineer,
the video was released in October 2016 and
promoted as evidence that the technology works.
Ashok Elluswamy, director of Autopilot software at
Tesla, says that the Model X used in the video was
not driving itself with deployed Tesla technology. .
Elluswamy's July deposition was taken as evidence
in part of a lawsuit against Tesla for a fatal
2018 crash involving a former Apple engineer.
Elluswamy's July deposition was taken as evidence
in part of a lawsuit against Tesla for a fatal
2018 crash involving a former Apple engineer.
NBC reports that the video
in question is still archived
on Tesla's website.
The video's tagline claims that , “The person in the driver’s seat
is only there for legal reasons. He is not
doing anything. The car is driving itself.”.
However, according to Elluswamy,
the video was created by using
3D mapping on a predetermined route. .
Elluswamy's testimony also reportedly
details how drivers intervened to take
control of cars used in the test runs. .
According to Elluswamy's testimony, when trying to
demonstrate the Model X's ability to park itself without a
driver, the car crashed into a fence in the Tesla parking lot.
The company's website also states that Tesla technology is
designed to assist with driving and emphasizes that the features , “do not make the vehicle autonomous.”