- The Dawn Project aired anti-Tesla Super Bowl ads for the second year in a row.
- The ad claimed that Tesla's driver assistance features caused the accident and urged viewers to boycott the vehicle.
- The Dawn project was founded by Dan O'Dowd, who runs a competing software company.
Tesla may not have run any Super Bowl ads yet, but the organization is Run by another tech CEO A commercial during the big game called for a boycott.
For the second year in a row, The Dawn Project aired a Super Bowl commercial on Sunday night that included footage of a Tesla crash in which the company's driver assistance features were allegedly in use, the organization said. announced.
One of the ads shows two clips: a Tesla car hitting a truck at an intersection, and a Tesla car failing to stop at a stop sign and crashing into a parked car.
Another ad alludes to an accident in which a “self-driving” Tesla failed to stop for a school bus, carrying a “child with a broken neck and leg and on a ventilator,” according to the video. .
The video appears to be a reference to last year's accident in which a 10th grader in North Carolina was hit by a Tesla.
In April, local news reported that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was investigating whether Autopilot was being used during the incident.
One 30-second ad states, “Tesla must be held accountable.” “Boycott Tesla to keep your family safe.”
Tesla did not respond to requests for comment before publication.
Automakers have traditionally been reluctant to advertise, relying primarily on Musk to promote their brands.
Last year, Tesla's CEO said the company would venture into advertising for the first time in the company's history, but Tesla commercials have yet to make it to the Super Bowl, where slots cost millions of dollars.
A spokesperson for The Dawn Project said the organization spent $552,000 on Super Bowl advertising this year.
The organization, which claims its mission is to ban “unsafe software,” ran a Super Bowl ad last year showing Tesla, which uses Tesla's driver assistance add-on “Full Self-Driving.” , and reportedly hit a child-sized car. dummy.
“By purchasing a new Tesla, you are funding and allowing Elon Musk to put a dangerous, unfinished product on public roads,” said Dan O'Dowd, founder of the Dawn Project. he told Business Insider in an emailed statement. “Through numerous national television commercials, including last year's Super Bowl, five full-page ads in the New York Times, and online ads, we are calling on Tesla and Elon Musk to do right by their defective software. We've been pressuring Tesla and Elon Musk to take it out of our company. But it seems like the only thing to pressure Tesla and Elon Musk to do the right thing is deny them your money.”
This isn't the first time O'Dowd has taken aim at Tesla and Musk. In 2022, O'Dowd unsuccessfully attempted to run for Senate on a platform based solely on banning Tesla's Autopilot and FSD features.
He also ran an ad in the New York Times criticizing Tesla. That year, Tesla threatened to sue O'Dowd and Musk called him “crazy” on social media.
Notably, O'Dowd is the CEO of Green Hills Software. Green Hills Software is a company that has worked with companies on its own self-driving systems, among other software projects.
NHTSA is investigating Tesla's driver assistance features, and the company launched an over-the-air update in February to address some concerns about FSD.
Tesla's Autopilot feature can be used to guide the vehicle on the highway, including lane changes and exit handling. FSD, on the other hand, works as an optional $12,000 or $199 per month add-on and can also operate in more urban environments, including lane change and stop recognition. signs, traffic lights, parking lots, etc.
The automaker said both services are still in beta testing mode and require a licensed driver to monitor the services at all times.
