Tesla Model 3
Source: Tesla
YouTube has removed a pair of videos from its platform showing Tesla drivers doing amateur vehicle safety tests on the road or driveway using their own children instead of dummies.
The tests were to determine if he was moving slowly. tesla Equipped with the company’s latest driver assistance systems, it will automatically avoid collisions with pedestrians – in this case children – walking or standing still on the road.
After contacting CNBC, a YouTube spokesperson, Elena Hernandez, wrote in an email Friday night:
“YouTube does not allow content that shows a minor participating in dangerous activities or that encourages minors to engage in dangerous activities. After review, we determined that the videos sent to us by CNBC violated our harmful and dangerous policies, and as a result, we removed the content.”
The specific policy YouTube mentions is about this harmful and dangerous contents. The company removes videos that promote dangerous or illegal activities that pose a serious risk of physical harm or death when it becomes aware of them. “In particular, we do not allow content that depicts or encourages minors in harmful situations that could lead to injury, including dangerous stunts, dares or pranks,” the spokesperson said.
Tesla markets its driver assistance systems in the US as a standard package called Autopilot and a premium option called Full Self-Driving (or FSD) that costs $12,000 up front or $199 per month. It also offers some drivers access to an experimental program called Full Self-Driving Beta if they score high in the company’s in-car safety tests.
None of these systems make Tesla cars self-driving, safe to use without a driver behind the wheel, inattention to the road, and the ability to steer, brake or accelerate in a short time. Tesla’s manuals warn drivers that the systems do not make their cars autonomous.
Driver: ‘I was ready to take over at any moment’
In a video released Sunday, August 14, Tesla owner and investor in Tad Park, a company led by Elon Musk, drove a Model 3 vehicle to one of his children at eight miles per hour on a road in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The video has been viewed tens of thousands of times before YouTube. AlphabetGoogle removed it. Alphabet also owns autonomous vehicle technology developer and robotaxis operator Waymo.
Park is the CEO of Volt Equity and portfolio manager of an autonomous driving technology-focused ETF called VCAR. “I have experienced the product myself and I believe in my investments,” Park told CNBC. “We have taken comprehensive safety measures to ensure that children are never in danger.”
In a follow-up email, Park said, “First we tried it on a mannequin, then we tried it with a tall basketball player, and finally one kid stood up and my other kid crossed the street.”
He said the car never went more than eight miles per hour. “We got the car to recognize the kid. Even if the system failed completely, I was always ready to take over. I had an idea of when it would come. If the car wasn’t slowing down enough, I would have to brake.”
Park conducted the tests in part as a rebuttal to a national advertising campaign by the software company founder. Dan O’Dowd He criticizes Tesla’s driver assistance features.
The now removed video was posted on a YouTube channel called All Mars CatalogIt is managed by Omar Qazi, a shareholder of Tesla and a big supporter on social networks. Tesla CEO elon musk He frequently interacts with the blog and Qazi on Twitter.
In addition to YouTube, CNBC reached out to the California DMV and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to ask if such videos are safe or legal.
NHTSA said in August. 16, “NHTSA advises the public that it can be extremely dangerous for anyone to attempt to test vehicle technologies on their own. No one should risk their own life or the life of anyone else to test the performance of vehicle technology.”
The agency also said, “As NHTSA has consistently stated, no vehicle available for purchase today is capable of self-driving. The most advanced vehicle technologies available for purchase today provide driver assistance and require a fully attentive human driver at all times performing the driving task. and monitor the surrounding environment.”
The California DMV told CNBC via email: “As advanced vehicle technologies become more widely available, the DMV shares the same concerns as other traffic safety stakeholders about the potential for drivers to misunderstand or misuse these features. DMV previously told Tesla He pointed out and continues to emphasize the importance of providing clear and effective communication to customers, buyers and the general public about the capabilities, limitations and intended use of any vehicle technology.”
California DMV recently claimed That Tesla deals with deceptive marketing or false advertising when it comes to driver assistance systems. It’s also in the middle of a long safety-related review of Tesla’s technology, including the FSD Beta.
Police in the town where Park took the test drive did not respond in time for the broadcast. Tesla did not immediately send a request for comment.
