VIDEO: Tesla demanding viral video be removed

Tesla demands viral video of its cars hitting child-sized mannequins gets taken down. Tech CEO who funded it refuses, calls Musk a ‘crybaby.’ – BUSINESS INSIDER

Tesla sent a cease-and-desist letter to an anti-Tesla advocacy group that created and posted a video showing one of its vehicles mowing down a kid-sized mannequin. Tesla argues the footage is a libelous distortion of the beta “Full Self-Driving” Tesla tech.

The Dawn Projects ad shows a Tesla Model 3 hitting a human model while traveling 20 miles per hour.

The recent release of cease-and-desist letters may be an indication a lawsuit against Tesla is coming, although a spokesperson for an advocacy group seems undeterred. Other testing on Model 3s has also shown that cars do not always stop when obstacles are placed in their path.

Tesla’s driver-assistance technology, called Full Autopilot, is not designed to autonomously operate a vehicle without the need for human input, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration seems to have reservations about the claim.

ODowd is refusing to accede to Tesla’s cease-and-desist request and has released a long, vitriolic rant against Musk.

O’Dowd has been outspoken in his criticism of Tesla’s FSD, and his latest ad calls for Congress to shut down the program.

Tesla’s FSD has sparked controversy in the past, with the California Department of Motor Vehicles filing a complaint alleging Tesla used “untrue or misleading” statements in advertising its driver assistance programs.

Tesla’s self-driving software (FSD) is optional and requires a licensed driver to monitor it at all times.