In an October 2016 video, Tesla demonstrated a self-driving Model X, which parks itself, without a driver on board. However, the reality behind these images was a little different from what the brand wanted us to believe.
In the race for innovation, Tesla is a pioneer in the world of electric vehicles and autonomous driving (Full Self Driving). However, behind well-rehearsed communications, we often discover that the brand sometimes manages with the truth. This is apparently the case with a video from Tesla, published in October 2016, which showed a Model X traveling between the home and the Tesla headquarters in autonomous driving (so, in theory, without human intervention). As reported by Reuters on January 18, 2023, we discover through the testimony of an engineer, invited to appear during a trial, that Tesla would not have been completely honest about the capabilities of the vehicle at that time.
Features that did not exist at the time of the video
Testimony of Ashok Elluswamy, director of Autopilot software at Tesla, in a trial relating to a fatal Tesla crash, highlights the fact that Tesla cheated on several points for his video made with a Model X simulating driving autonomous.
This video, published on October 20, 2016, caused a huge reaction online when it was broadcast. This was the first video featuring a demonstration of Tesla’s Full Self Driving (FSD). She’s still online on the Tesla website and on Vimeo:
What we discover, almost 6 years later, is that this video presents several features that did not yet exist when it was broadcast – such as stopping at a red light and then restarting at a green light. They are pilots who have taken control of the vehicle to do so. Which seems a bit of a stretch, as the video begins with a message that reads: “ The person in the driver’s seat is only there for legal reasons. She does nothing at all. The car drives itself. »
A pre-recorded cartography and a hanging ignored
Beyond the simulated functionalities, we discover on this occasion that Tesla also used pre-recorded 3D mapping to make the journey smoothly. Even if we can understand Tesla’s motivations to do so, the brand could have made it clear in its video in complete transparency.
Finally, Tesla of course ignored the fact that, during its tests, one of the Model Xs crashed into the fence. He was supposed to go and park himself in the company car park, once the person in the driver’s seat got out of the vehicle. You can’t make omelettes without breaking eggs; apparently we don’t make videos of Tesla in full self-driving (FSD) autopilot, without damaging a few Teslas either.
Is Tesla really honest when communicating about technologies?
Already at the time of this video, Numerama had specified that we lacked information as to how it had been made. A remark that takes on even more meaning today with this new lighting.
Tesla, and especially Elon Musk, always wants to do more, at the risk of doing too much. This encourages the brand to flirt with its version of the truth. Sometimes with magnificent failures, as during the presentation of the Cybertruck, where we had seen live its unbreakable window break, or when a human disguised as a robot had replaced the humanoid not yet ready for a demonstration. We can also observe it with the provision of Full Self Driving functions, far from being really developed when they are pushed to users who have paid for the option.
As the Tesla engineer said during his testimony: ” The intent of the video was not to accurately portray what was available to customers in 2016. It was to portray what was possible to build into the system. »
Tesla often manages with the truth, as the manufacturer also does with its calendar. One thing is certain: it is better to be wary of what seems too good to be true. With Tesla and Elon Musk’s announcements, there are often surprises.
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