The Cult of Tesla continues to grow in full force. After the last beta for Tesla full self-driving resulted in numerous high-profile mistakes, the electric car company is getting desperate. In a bid to limit negative press, the company instructs beta participants to help reduce negative videos online.
Tesla full self-driving NDA asks for less negativity
Reported by Vice, newer versions of the Tesla full self-driving beta NDA convince fans to defend the company. After videos of Tesla’s serving towards crowds and towards traffic went viral, the company is on the defensive.
Anyone who participates in the beta must refrain from talking to the media or allowing media in their car. Additionally, they're asked to only share videos “responsibly”, a harsh reaction to prior controversies. Furthermore, the NDA attempts to manipulate beta testers, implying their negative videos are responsible for anti-Tesla press.
It reads:
“Do remember that there are a lot of people that want Tesla to fail; Don’t let them mischaracterize your feedback and media posts.” It also encourages EAP members to “share on social media responsibly and selectively...consider sharing fewer videos, and only the ones that you think are interesting or worthy of being shared.”
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The public interest
As Vice notes, asking people to hide overly negative videos of Tesla’s self-driving AI is an issue. Unlike a video game beta, Tesla’s autonomous driving cars are on public roads, interacting with real people.
In journalism, the notion of public interest weighs in whether or not stories should be published. In the case of Tesla full self-driving, dangerous issues on public roads are undeniably public instead. It’s irresponsible to hide public safety issues from the public.
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