Tesla’s FSD Beta is Gaining Love as well as Hate

A full-page ad in yesterday’s New York Times, proclaiming, “Don’t be a Tesla crash test dummy,” again proves that Tesla (TSLA) is on everyone’s mind. However, it is true that not everyone loves the company. While some individuals are crazy for the Tesla brand, others are harsh detractors.

Shortly after Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, retweeted Ross Gerber’s claim that the Tesla FSD (Full Self-Driving Package) Beta had had no incidents since its first release, a full-page advertisement in the New York Times claims that Tesla’s Autopilot self-driving software is absolutely dangerous for users.

According to the advertisement, Tesla’s FSD software is “the worst software ever sold by a Fortune 500 company.” The article was credited to The Dawn Project advocacy group, whose head is Dan O’Dowd, who is also the CEO of Green Hills Software, a firm that specializes in automotive software. This Dawn group aims to ban unsafe software in safety-critical devices.

Several more serious concerns regarding Tesla’s Autopilot technology were made in the newspaper advertisement. One such line from the advertisement read, “Tesla’s camera-based driver monitoring system fails to keep a driver’s attention on the road.”

The Dawn group argues that Tesla’s Autopilot-driven vehicles on the road are a danger to human life and should be outlawed until the company can demonstrate its efficacy on the roads.

One thing is certain: no auto-driving system on the market is fully risk-free. However, the issue that emerges in our thoughts is whether one should put their faith in Tesla’s FSD software right now, or wait a little longer for further improvements. If history is any indicator, Musk is likely to tweet in response, shedding further light on the situation.

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