O’Dowd’s “The Dawn Project,” which says it wants to make software systems safer for humanity, is airing two ads during the Super Bowl calling on consumers to boycott the electric automaker’s products and stock after
“Two months after our ad aired, a child was hit by a Tesla while coming off a school bus,” O’Dowd told CNN in a phone interview. “It’s completely intolerable. Why would Tesla not turn off its self-driving features on roads that it knows are not safe on? This one thing will save lives and will cost Tesla absolutely nothing.”
There is an entire section of the Tesla owner’s manual listing the limitations and warnings surrounding these programs. For example, the Autosteer function is “particularly unlikely to operate as intended” when driving on hills, on roads with sharp turns, in direct sunlight, or when shadows obstruct lane markings.
This year’s ads from The Dawn Project incorporate “real crash footage from victims of Tesla’s self-driving software,” the group said in the news release. The clips reportedly show two separate incidents involving Tesla cars with activated Autopilot features, according to The Dawn Project. In the first, a vehicle barrels into a semitrailer truck at an intersection. In the second, a vehicle flies past a stop sign and collides with a parked car.
O’Dowd told CNN The Dawn’s Project’s Super Bowl ad last year invigorated the conversation around Tesla’s self-driving capabilities. The goal this year is to push consumer awareness to the point where they act with their wallets, he said. According to O’Dowd, The Dawn Project set aside a bigger budget this year, anticipating they would purchase ad space in Sacramento. However, CBS Sacramento refused to air their ads, saying “social cause/issue advocacy ads are not permitted,” according to The Dawn Project spokesperson.8 Bay Area counties sue Tesla, claiming it illegally dumped hazardous waste