Tesla Demands Videos of Its Cars Mowing Down Child-Sized Dummies Be Removed

Tesla is trying to stop a company critic from posting videos that claim to show that Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system can’t stop the electric cars from crashing into children. 

You may have seen the videos(Opens in a new window) on TV or social media. They depict company critic and software engineer Dan O’Dowd showing a Tesla car repeatedly mowing down kid-sized mannequins, even though its self-driving Autopilot system has supposedly been switched on.

A description for the video adds the road tests “conclusively demonstrated that Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software does not avoid the child or even slow down when a child-sized mannequin is in plain view.”

On Thursday, O’Dowd revealed(Opens in a new window) Tesla sent him a cease-and-desist letter on Aug. 11, demanding he pull the videos for allegedly spreading false claims about the company’s FSD system. 

It’s true the company’s less-advanced Autopilot technology has been involved in numerous(Opens in a new window) car accidents before. However, Tesla says O’Dowd has been pushing defamatory information on the company’s beta FSD system based on rigged road tests. 

“Your testing and methodology have already received swift and public rebukes from multiple sources,” Tesla’s deputy counsel writes in the letter. “For example, the commercial you released claims that the tests shown were performed with Tesla’s FSD Beta engaged. But Electrek reported(Opens in a new window) that your own videos clearly show that FSD Beta was not engaged at times.”

The company also insists its self-driving technology has been designed to stop in front of children, and will do so, “when utilized properly.”

“While you and The Dawn Project purport to advocate for safety, the videos portray unsafe and improper use of FSD Beta and active safety features. Your actions actually put consumers at risk,” Tesla adds in the letter. 

O’Dowd is refusing to relent. In a 1,700-word blog post(Opens in a new window), he derided the cease-and-desist letter as “mostly Tesla marketing propaganda” while taking a few jabs at company CEO Elon Musk. 

“It turns out, Mr. Free Speech Absolutist(Opens in a new window) is just another crybaby hiding behind his lawyer’s skirt. He is obsessed with stopping me from exposing that his Full Self-Driving cars could mow down a child dressed in a safety vest in a school crosswalk,” O’Dowd wrote. His blog post further claims the safety tests conducted with Tesla’s full-self driving technology were “completely legitimate and not deceptive.”

Over a week ago, he also uploaded another video showing a Tesla vehicle running over a child dummy during another road test conducted near a school in Santa Barbara, California. (Meanwhile, Tesla supporters have responded with their own video, which shows the company’s Full-Self Driving system will stop, swerve, or slow down when it detects a mannequin, adult, or child is in front of the car. YouTube yanked that video for violating its child safety policy.)

Tweet(Opens in a new window)

O’Dowd is the CEO of a company called Green Hills Software, a developer of software for embedded systems. He was relatively unknown until he ran for a US Senate seat in his home state of California earlier this year. However, he campaigned on a single issue that focused on bolstering the US’s IT infrastructure from cybersecurity threats.

To do so, O’Dowd began criticizing Tesla’s self-driving technology, calling it out as a threat to the public roads and demanding it be banned. Although his Senate bid failed, O’Dowd continues to oppose Tesla through his group The Dawn Project, which is working to block “unsafe software from safety critical systems.”

In his blog post, O’Dowd vows to fight Musk in court if he proceeds with a defamation claim. “I dare you to come out and defend this technology,” he writes. 

In the meantime, Musk himself has responded(Opens in a new window) to the controversy on Twitter by claiming O’Dowd is bat shit crazy.