Ashok Elluswamy, senior engineer and director of autopilot software at Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) testified that a 2016 video that the company used to promote its self-driving technology was staged, per Reuters, which cited a transcript of Elluswamy’s July 2022 deposition. This testimony, which was previously unreported, marks the first instance of a Tesla employee confirming the video was faked.
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The video, which is still available on the electric vehicle maker’s website, was released in October 2016 and was promoted by CEO Elon Musk on Twitter to display that “Tesla drives itself.” It showed that Tesla Model X had capabilities like stopping at a red light and accelerating at a green light by itself. However, the Model X did not have such capabilities at that time, according to Elluswamy.
Elluswamy added that the video was made at Musk’s request, who asked the company’s Autopilot team to record a “demonstration of the system’s capabilities.” The video was then created using 3D mapping on a predetermined route from a house in Menlo Park, California, to Tesla’s then-headquarters in Palo Alto. “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,” said Elluswamy in his testimony.
This deposition is being used as evidence in a lawsuit against Tesla for a fatal crash in 2018 involving former Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) engineer Walter Huang. The revelation of Elluswamy’s deposition about the staged video comes at a time when Tesla is already facing litigation for multiple accidents involving the Autopilot system and the U.S. Department of Justice’s criminal investigation over self-driving claims.
Despite regulatory scrutiny and several crashes, Tesla recently announced that its Full Self-Driving Beta is now available to all those North American customers who paid for this feature. Nonetheless, Tesla’s website cautions that its vehicles are not fully autonomous currently and require active driver supervision.
Is TSLA Stock a Buy?
Wall Street is cautiously optimistic about Tesla stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus rating backed by 20 Buys, nine Holds, and three Sells. The average TSLA stock price target of $231.71 implies 76.2% upside potential. Shares have plunged 62% over the past 52 weeks.
