According to reports, a Tesla self-driving tester said he was fired by Tesla after posting a self-driving evaluation video on YouTube.
In the video, he and his friends sit on a Tesla Model 3, driving a "full self-driving" (FSD), when the vehicle hits a guard on the side of the road.
The former Tesla employee is john Bernal. He said he was fired a few days after he released the video and was also relieved of his access to the FSD test system.
Burnell's video, titled "Tesla Fully Self-Driving Crash," shows him sitting in a Tesla with friends strolling around Los Angeles. As the vehicle was about to turn right into West San Fernando Street, the car drove off the road and hit the parapet that separated the shoulders.
"Oh my God, we crashed. I slammed the brakes to the bottom," Burnell said, grabbing the steering wheel and pulling the car to a halt.
After parking, he added, "We did crash and you can see the marks under my bumpers." It was the first time I hit something on full autopilot. ”
The video, released on Feb. 4, is an "AI Addict" run by Burnell and has 200,000 views. But the following week, Burnell was fired by Tesla.
He explained the situation in an updated video released on Feb. 15, saying the YouTube video was also a reason for the company to fire him. Burnell has been at Tesla since 2020. He believes the car is his own, driving in his own free time, using software that he has spent money on, and there are no "problems caused by improper use."
Schematic diagram of fully autonomous driving
Burnell told the media that his written notice of departure did not include reasons for the dismissal, but executives verbally told him there was a "conflict of interest" in the YouTube video and that he "violated Tesla policy."
"A manager on my self-driving team tried to dissuade me from posting anything negative or controversial about the FSD beta in the future." Burnell said. "They had a video conference with me, but there wasn't anything written [about it]."
Nine Pai News Intern Reporter Yuan Jiabei