Tesla FSD Beta smear campaign is leading to a Super Bowl ad, according to the people behind the campaign. This is a whole new level for the Full-Self Driving Beta. Last year the attack on the Tesla Full Self-driving Beta program was started by Dan O’Dowd. He is a self-described billionaire and founder of Green Hills Software, a privately owned company that is into OS and programming tools.
The campaign started last year with the aim to ban it from US public roads. However, lost his senate effort. Now, despite the defeat, the attack continues under the name, “The Dawn Project”. O’Dowd had launched a Senate campaign in his home state of California, but the tech executive made it quite clear that he is making it a single-issue campaign, and that issue is Tesla’s Full Self-Driving program. Under the protection of political ads, he invested several million dollars in an ad campaign to attack Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Beta program with the goal of having it banned from public roads in the US.
Watch The Dawn Project’s #SuperBowl ad demonstrate critical safety defects in @Tesla Full Self-Driving. 6 months ago we reported FSD would run down a child. Tesla hasn't even fixed that! To focus their attention, @NHTSAgov must turn off FSD until Tesla fixes all safety defects. pic.twitter.com/AxJbN5oOSr
— Dan O'Dowd (@RealDanODowd) February 11, 2023
Last summer, the campaign launched a new ad called “The Dangers of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Software,” in which they showed footage of an in-house test showing a Tesla Model 3 on FSD Beta hitting a child dummy. There are major holes in the ad, which included the methodology behind the tests. Where it was seen that the FSD Beta was clearly not engaged. Tesla ended up sending a cease and desist letter to the Dawn Project over the campaign.
FSD Beta
Tesla FSD Beta is a level driver assist system that requires driver attention at all times. The automaker is using the program to improve its neural nets in order to eventually deliver on its self-driving promises. The campaign is producing unscientific tests where it puts FSD Beta in difficult situations and only show the worst performances to produce these ads. Now O’Dowd announced that they produced a new anti-Tesla FSD Beta video that they are going to show as a new Super Bowl ad.
We publish footage of each test, including multiple angles showing controls not touched, and fanboys still confidently assert we faked them!
To remove all doubt that these severe safety defects are real we invite @ElonMusk, @NHTSAgov, the media to witness a public demonstration.
— Dan O'Dowd (@RealDanODowd) February 11, 2023
The ad shows just a collection of bad Tesla FSD Beta performances and Tesla vehicles crashing into dummies. Also, it keeps referring to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Beta program as “Tesla Full Self-Driving” – insinuating that this is what Tesla believes self-driving should be. It’s also worth noting that O’Dowd’s Green Hills Software claims to produce software for the automotive industry and specifically for driver assist features, which makes it a direct competitor to Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD efforts.
