Tesla boss Elon Musk to be questioned under oath over autonomous driving promises

US electric-vehicle giant Tesla has made the bizarre claim that "deep fake" impersonation software – not company CEO Elon Musk – overstated the true effectiveness of the company's semi-autonomous driving technology.

A California court has ordered Tesla CEO Elon Musk to be questioned under oath regarding statements he allegedly made in 2016 which exaggerated the capabilities and safety of the company’s then-new semi-autonomous driving technology.

In 2016 Mr Musk allegedly said: “A (Tesla) Model S and Model X, at this point, can drive autonomously with greater safety than a person. Right now.”

While Tesla claims Mr Musk “cannot recall details about statements”, representatives for Tesla told a California court the comments could have been made by high-tech impersonation software – also known as ‘deep fake’ technology – rather than the company’s CEO.

“(Elon Musk) like many public figures, is the subject of many ‘deepfake’ videos and audio recordings that purport to show him saying and doing things he never actually said or did,” Tesla told the court, according to news agency Reuters.

The electric-vehicle giant is the subject of multiple US safety investigations in which Tesla semi-autonomous technology is suspected to have been at fault – or a contributing factor – in numerous road deaths.

Tesla is currently facing legal action in California following the death of Walter Huang, an Apple software engineer who died in a car crash while driving a Tesla in 2018.

In its lawsuit against Tesla, Mr Huang’s family claims the electric car’s semi-autonomous driving technology failed, which caused the vehicle to crash. 

The semi-autonomous driving technology – marketed as ‘Autopilot’ – is fitted as standard to the latest Tesla vehicles, and includes aids such as adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assistance.

Tesla’s defence has argued the system was not at fault for the fatal crash, claiming Mr Huang was “playing a videogame on his phone before the crash and disregarded vehicle warnings”.

The Huang family’s attorneys sought to depose Mr Musk regarding the 2016 comments allegedly made by the Tesla CEO, which they claim exaggerated the capabilities of the Autopilot technology.

Reuters reports Superior Court Judge Evette Pennypacker ordered a three-hour deposition for the plaintiff's attorneys to interview Mr Musk under oath, which will allow them to question the Tesla CEO about the 2016 comments.

Judge Pennypacker directly addressed Tesla’s claim that Mr Musk’s comments could have been made by ‘deepfake’ technology, saying it sets a dangerous precedent for public figures “to avoid taking ownership of what they did actually say and do.”

“Their (Tesla’s) position is that because Mr Musk is famous and might be more of a target for deep fakes, his public statements are immune,” Judge Pennypack wrote, according to Reuters.

The trial of Mr Huang’s family and Tesla is scheduled to start on 31 July 2023 in California.

The reports of the latest case against Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving technology comes less than a week after the electric-car giant won a separate legal case in California, which cleared the driver assistance system of responsibility in a 2019 crash.

While Tesla’s ‘Autopilot’ system was engaged at the time of the crash, the electric car’s driver was not holding the steering wheel – despite warnings in its owner’s manual which told drivers to be prepared to take control at all times.

As previously reported, US road safety regulators are investigating Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving systems, following a number of deadly crashes and near-misses attributed to the advanced driver assist technology.

At least 17 fatal crashes involving Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving technology have been reported to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) since mid-2021.

This includes all three levels of Tesla’s advanced driver assistance systems – marketed as Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving.

While Autopilot and Enhanced Autopilot are available in Australia, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving does not comply with Australian road rules and is not available locally to Tesla owners.