Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are the greatest resistance. Know that 'Israel' will fall because it embodies aggression, crime, and occupation; victory is truly yours
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: The value of what you are doing despite your wounds is immense, and here you are, treading the path of the Master of Nation's Martyrs and the leaders
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are moving forward with insight deeper than sight itself. The enemy sought to eliminate your role in the battle, yet you remain steadfast and continue the fight
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors one year later: You are healing from your wounds and rising above them. You have successfully passed the test
Palestinian media: Reports of stabbing operation in occupied al-Quds.
Israeli media: Sirens blare in Arava in South, near Ramon Airport.
Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouli: Egypt is targeted in plans to redraw regional map
AEOI Chief Mohammad Eslami: Our presence in IAEA General Council and fact-checking helped in preventing unilateral rhetoric that aims to portray Iran as an unregulated country
AEOI Chief Mohammad Eslami: We witnessed new, stricter stances from European countries since signing new agreement with IAEA
Saree: Our UAV force targeted the so-called Ramon Airport in the Umm al-Rashrash area in southern occupied Palestine

Revealed: Tesla 2016 video promoting self-driving was staged

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 18 Jan 2023 16:27
3 Min Read

The video, which is still available on Tesla's website, was produced in October 2016 and pushed on Twitter by Tesla CEO Elon Musk as proof that "Tesla drives itself."

  • x
  • A Tesla Model S electric car (REUTERS)
    A Tesla Model S electric car (Reuters)

A senior engineer revealed that a 2016 video used by Tesla to showcase its self-driving technology was produced to depict capabilities like stopping at a red light and accelerating at a green light that the system did not have.

The video, which is still available on Tesla's website, was produced in October 2016 and pushed on Twitter by Tesla CEO Elon Musk as proof that "Tesla drives itself."

However, the Model X was not driving itself using Tesla technology, according to Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla's director of Autopilot software, in a transcript of a July deposition taken as evidence in a lawsuit against Tesla for a 2018 fatal collision involving a former Apple worker.

Elluswamy's unreported statement is the first time a Tesla employee has acknowledged and discussed how the film was created.

"The person in the driver's seat is only there for legal reasons," says the slogan of the video. He is not acting in any way. "The automobile drives itself."

Related News

Tesla profits plunge 71% as Musk plans DOGE exit

Tesla sales in France, Sweden plunge, hit lowest Q1 since 2021

According to Elluswamy, Tesla's Autopilot team set out to design and record a "demonstration of the system's capabilities" at Musk's request.

Elluswamy, Musk, and Tesla have all declined to comment, according to Reuters. However, the company has advised drivers that while using Autopilot, they must keep their hands on the wheel and maintain control of their vehicles.

The Tesla technology is designed to assist with steering, braking, speed, and lane changes but its features “do not make the vehicle autonomous,” the company claims on its website.

Tesla employed 3D mapping on a predetermined route from a house in Menlo Park, California, to Tesla's then-headquarters in Palo Alto to generate the film, he claimed.

“The intent of the video was not to accurately portray what was available for customers in 2016. It was to portray what was possible to build into the system,” Elluswamy said, according to a transcript of his testimony.

The US Department of Justice began a criminal investigation into Tesla’s claims that its electric vehicles can drive themselves in 2021, after a number of crashes, some of them fatal, involving Autopilot.

According to unidentified sources, the New York Times claimed in 2021 that Tesla engineers prepared the 2016 film to promote Autopilot without mentioning that the route had been planned in advance or that a car had crashed while attempting to complete the shoot.

  • Tesla CEO Elon Musk
  • Tesla crash
  • Elon Musk
  • self-driving technology
  • Tesla video

Most Read

Pro-"Israel" conservative Charlie Kirk shot during Utah speech

American far-right activist Charlie Kirk shot dead during Utah speech

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

  • Palestine
  • 14 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Britain Trained Israeli Soldiers Involved in Gaza War: Declassified
Europe

UK training of Israeli officers sparks outcry over Gaza war complicity

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Politics

Luxembourg to recognize Palestine at UN summit next week

European Union flags flap in the wind outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025 (AP)
Politics

EU exec. branch to adopt new sanctions against 'Israel' on Wednesday

Charlie Kirk killing suspect faces charges in Utah court hearing
US & Canada

Charlie Kirk murder suspect faces formal charges in Utah court hearing

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS