As reported first by TechCrunch, a video has been removed by Youtube featuring drivers testing the beta version of Tesla's Full Self Driving using children, as a way of testing the safety of the electric vehicles.
The video featured the owner of the Tesla Model 3 named Tad Park testing the FSD feature on a San Francisco Road by letting his child stand on the road. He tested the feature once again with his other child and luckily, both of the tests worked as the vehicle stopped before reaching his children.
"Does Tesla Full Self Driving Beta really run over kids" was the title of the video and was posted on August 14 via the 'Whole Mars Catalog' Youtube channel. This was runned by Omar Qazi, a shareholder and a huge promoter of Tesla on social media. The video garnered 60,000 views before it got removed.
The tests were done to figure out the new automated driving feature of the vehicle that avoids hitting pedestrians, including children, passing on the road as Tesla presented the new feature that Full Self Driving is offering.
Community Guidelines Violation
Ivy Choi, the Youtube Spokesperson, said in an interview for The Verge that the video violated one of the streaming platform's guidelines involving "harmful and dangerous content". Choi also confirms that Youtube does not allow content that uses kids to perform dangerous activities.
Park said that made sure that his children will not be in danger during the filming of the video as he was 'prepared to take over at any time, he stated on CNBC's report. The driver and the content creator is also the CEO and founder of Volt Equity. He added "I have experienced the product myself, and believe in my investments. We did extensive safety precautions so that kids were never in danger."
Local Authorities' Response
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement that no one should be using real people, especially children, to test an automated vehicle's driving feature.
They added, "As NHTSA has stated consistently, no vehicle available for purchase today is capable of driving itself. The most advanced vehicle technologies available for purchase today provide driver assistance and require a fully attentive human driver at all times performing the driving task and monitoring the surrounding environment.".
The Tesla Full Self Driving beta is not automatically included when purchasing a Tesla vehicle. An additional 12,000 or a 199 monthly subscription will be added when drivers and users get the feature. A certain safety score will also be needed for a driver for them to purchase this. When using the automated driving feature or the Advanced Driver Assistance System, a destination must be entered first and the hands of the driver must be ready to take the wheel at any time.
This article is owned by TechTimes
Written by Inno Flores
