Considered As Slander, Tesla Asks For The Video Of Its Car Hitting A Children's Doll To Be Removed

Tesla considers the video of his vehicle colliding with a children's doll is slander. (photo: ary julianto/voi.id)

JAKARTA - Tesla Inc has demanded a safety advocacy group to remove videos of its vehicle hitting a child's doll while its driver assistant system was being used. Tesla, called them "slanderous" and "misleading."

The group, the Dawn Project, has launched a nationwide TV campaign warning about the alleged potential dangers of what Tesla calls "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) software, ultimately adding to public scrutiny and regulation of the technology.

.@elonmusk, is your @Tesla Full Self-Driving software just a trillion dollar Ponzi scheme? Did you become the wealthiest man in history by swindling customers and investors?

Here's the story, in your own words:#FSDDelendaEst pic.twitter.com/WDOoKKLYgv

— The Dawn Project (@RealDawnProject) June 9, 2022

One of the videos posted by the group shows a Tesla vehicle with FSD software running into a child-sized mannequin. They also called for a sentence saying "Tell Congress to Turn It Off."

In a Cease and Desist letter dated August 11, Tesla said the Dawn Project and its founders "have disparaged Tesla's commercial interests and disseminated defamatory information to the public." The letter was disclosed by the Dawn Project last Thursday.

Tesla threatened legal action, saying the tests in the video were "possible fraud" and "misrepresented Tesla's technological capabilities."

US safety regulators have now stepped up investigations into Tesla's Autopilot system following a series of accidents.

The company says "FSD Beta," a test version of the new automated driving technology used by a limited number of consumers, "understands pedestrians, including children, and when used properly, the system reacts to prevent or mitigate collisions."

The Dawn Project was founded by Dan O'Dowd, a critic of Tesla's FSD system and a software entrepreneur in California who has run for the US Senate.

Project Dawn said its tests were "completely legit and non-deceptive," and called Tesla's letter "marketing propaganda."

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters on the allegations.