Don't Piss Off Elon: Tesla Fired Employee Who Posted Honest Review of Driver Assist Features to YouTube

Conservative News DailyMarch 16, 2022

Elon Musk’s Tesla reportedly fired an employee after he posted an honest review of the company’s Full Self-Driving software on his YouTube channel.

The Verge reports that former Tesla employee John Bernal alleges that he was fired from the company after reviewing its Full Self-Driving Beta software on his YouTube channel. Bernal runs the channel AI Addict where he uploaded a video of his Tesla hitting a bollard as he reviewed the autonomous driving feature.

Bernal says that prior to his dismissal from Tesla, he was told by his managers that he “broke Tesla policy,” and that his YouTube channel was a “conflict of interest,” although his written termination notice did not specify why he was fired. Bernal alleges that he previously was approached by managers after he posted a video in March 2021 which showed his Tesla ending up in a number of close calls with pedestrians and cyclists. This video can be seen below:

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The video received more than 250,000 views and was shared across multiple social networks. Bernal claims that shortly after posting the video: “A manager from my Autopilot team tried to dissuade me from posting any negative or critical content in the future that involved FSD Beta. They held a video conference with me but never put anything in writing.”

Tesla does not expressly prohibit employees from criticizing its products, but the company “relies on the common sense and good judgment of its employees to engage in responsible social media activity.” Bernal’s access to the Full Self Driving feature was revoked after his firing.

Footage of Bernal’s FSD crash can be seen below:

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