The Dawn Project founder, Dan O'Dowd, has slammed Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) and CEO Elon Musk after a video showcased a Tesla Robotaxi safety driver apparently asleep behind the wheel.
Robotaxi Safety Driver Fell Asleep In San Francisco
Sharing a video on social media platform X on Tuesday, O'Dowd slammed the EV giant. "Watch a @Tesla “Robotaxi” safety driver fall asleep while "monitoring" a ride in San Francisco," O'Dowd said in the post.
Tesla didn't immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comment.
In the video, the onboard safety operator can be seen with his head down, apparently sleeping, only putting his head back up when the ‘driver attention' alarm went off.
O'Dowd questioned Musk about whether the driver's demeanor reflects the "’constant attention to the road,’" as well as the "’immediate preparedness’" that the FSD system requires.
Elon Musk Says Robotaxis Will Go Driverless By End Of 2025 Amid NHTSA Probe
Musk, during the automaker's third-quarter earnings call last month, had said that Tesla's Robotaxis in Austin, which currently operate with an onboard safety driver, will go driverless by the end of the year. Musk had also shared that the FSD technology could be spreading faster than any other technology in history.
Tesla's FSD is also under NHTSA's radar after the regulator announced an investigation into the technology following reports of traffic violations and multiple accidents involving Tesla vehicles on Autopilot or FSD.
Flawless FSD Experience, Waymo Expansion
Meanwhile, Andrej Karpathy, the automaker’s former AI lead, hailed Tesla’s FSD system, sharing his experiences with self-driving tech onboard his HW4 Tesla Model X. “Basically a flawless drive,” Karpathy said, praising the technology and drawing comparisons of the technology with a magnetic levitation train.
Elsewhere, Alphabet Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) autonomous vehicle company Waymo recently announced the expansion of its self-driving cabs on highways in multiple cities without an onboard safety operator.
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Price Action: TSLA slipped 1.88% to $401.25 at market close, but slipped 0.72% to $398.38 at the end of the regular trading session, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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