Except that in a deposition last July as part of the investigation into several accidents that occurred in 2018, the director of development of Autopilot would have admitted that this video was a hoax. The car did not use Tesla technology. It was actually following a predetermined route via 3D mapping, and several drivers would have taken turns to take control.
False
The engineer defends himself by saying that the video did not then have the will to actually represent what the brand was offering on these vehicles. However, this could amount to false and misleading . Because in addition to the message at the beginning of the video (above), Elon Musk had as usual relayed it on Twitter, claiming that she was driving herself.
Enough to put the billionaire and the company a little more in the hot seat, which has since taken a serious step backwards, indicating on its site that Autopilot is only a driving assistance system, and does not make the vehicle autonomous. The driver remains legally responsible.
Jail for Musk?
Still, it could get Musk in serious trouble if he’s found responsible for the deaths caused by crashes while using Autopilot. The investigation is indeed qualified as criminal, with the heavy penalties that they can generate in the American judicial system.