01/18/2023

Tesla Engineer Says Company Faked 'Full Autopilot' Video

CEO Elon Musk promoted the demonstration on Twitter

A Tesla video purporting to demonstrate the automaker's self-driving capabilities was actually staged, according to claims from a senior engineer at the company reported by Reuters.

The video was shared in a 2016 blog post titled "Full Self-Driving Hardware on All Teslas," that is still available. Before the nearly 4-minute video begins, the screen flashes text reading, "The person in the driver's seat is only there for legal reasons. He is not doing anything. The car is driving itself."

The video then shows a Tesla pulling out of a driveway, stopping at intersections and red lights, traveling on a highway, delivering a person to an office complex and then parallel-parking itself, set to the sound of the Rolling Stones' "Paint it black." The driver's hands hover just below the steering wheel for the duration of the video.

Please select this link to read the complete article from CBS News.