This Time Video Manipulation Allegations... Tesla Once Again in Controversy

"Autonomous Driving Promotional Video Production" Insider Leak
Consecutive Accidents, Sales Plunge... Future Moves in Focus

[Asia Economy Culture Intern Reporter Young] An internal source has testified that the promotional video for the autonomous driving feature of Tesla's 2016 electric vehicle Model X was staged. Tesla's future moves are drawing attention following a series of fire accidents, a sharp decline in sales, and now allegations of video manipulation.

On the 17th (local time), Reuters reported that it obtained a court affidavit from Ashok Elluswami, Tesla's Autopilot software director, in which Elluswami testified that the video promoting the Model X's autonomous driving feature in 2016 was 'staged' rather than actual autonomous driving. The video was manipulated to show parts that were difficult to implement with the technology at the time.

In the controversial video, Tesla CEO Elon Musk included the promotional phrase "Tesla drives itself" on his Twitter. Tesla emphasized that although there was a person in the driver's seat according to California regulations, the vehicle drove itself in the Model X driving footage.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

The vehicle autonomously drove on a road from a house in Menlo Park, California, to Tesla's headquarters in Palo Alto, but according to Director Elluswami, this route was pre-mapped in 3D. Although the vehicle followed a pre-input route rather than real-time autonomous driving, Tesla promoted the vehicle as having autonomous driving capabilities.

According to Director Elluswami, the technology level at the time had limitations in perfectly implementing what was shown in the video, so the video was staged. It was also revealed that the technology for the vehicle to start in response to traffic lights was impossible in 2016. Elluswami stated in the affidavit, "The purpose of the video was not to show what the vehicle could do, but to show what functions could be included in the system in the future."

Meanwhile, this testimony emerged during the trial process after Apple engineer Walter Huang died in an accident while driving a Tesla in Mountain View, California, in 2018. The bereaved family filed a lawsuit against Tesla, citing issues with Tesla's Autopilot promotional video. Following multiple Tesla vehicle accidents and lawsuits, the U.S. Department of Justice has now launched an investigation.

Tesla's future moves are also drawing attention as its image suffers from a series of controversies. According to the electric vehicle industry, Tesla's market share in the U.S. new electric vehicle market was 79% in 2020 but dropped to 65% by September 2022.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.