Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) is an incredibly advanced technology, but it’s far from perfect. As such, many are trying to either have the automaker change the name of its autonomous driving technology, or have it banned from public roads altogether. The latest event in this saga comes from notable Elon Musk adversary Dan O’Dowd, who plans on airing a Super Bowl ad against FSD through his tech advocacy group called ‘The Dawn Project’.
As reported by The Washington Post, O’Dowd wants an outright ban on FSD, believing that allowing owners to run a beta version of the program is “a major threat to public safety”, even if they willingly opt-in under Tesla’s terms and conditions.
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The ad, which will air in select geographic regions during the Super Bowl, calls on regulators and the public to get FSD banned. It shows Tesla vehicles equipped with the technology making egregious errors in judgement, such as running over a child mannequin making a simulated street crossing, failing to stop for a school bus with its stop sign extended, and even driving on the wrong side of the road. More clips can also be seen of Teslas ignoring “Do Not Enter” signs and running through strollers, all supposedly with FSD enabled.
“The Dawn Project’s ad will be broadcast during the game to millions of viewers, politicians and regulators in Washington, D.C., and state capitals including California, New York, Texas, Florida and Georgia,” a press release from the Dawn Project reads. “The Super Bowl ad will be followed by a series of television and print ads calling for urgent action over the deployment of Tesla’s dangerous Full Self-Driving software on public roads.”
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O’Dowd and The Dawn Project have ran other anti-FSD ads in the past. Most recently, that included a full-page ad appearing in the New York Times last November that called for the same action as this Super Bowl commercial. Before that, they also created a controversial video ad back in August showing a Model 3 running down a child-sized mannequin with FSD supposedly enabled. The video was so inflammatory that Tesla actually sent a cease-and-desist letter to The Dawn Project accusing them of defamation.
While The Dawn Project’s statements and actions may seem a bit extreme, there is some merit to the statement that FSD is not fully ready for public use, at least not marketed as a system that can completely replace a driver, as the name “Full Self-Driving” would suggest.