Tesla FSD Ads Show Driver Neglect, Undermining Defense
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- Tesla posted a video on X on May 26 showing a driver operating a portable espresso machine while the vehicle’s FSD Supervised mode was active, with the caption “I do my espresso while I’m driving.”
- Tesla’s caption encouraged users to “Try it yourself,” while a fine‑print disclaimer required active driver supervision, creating a direct contradiction highlighted by the article.
- Tesla Europe released a June 9 video celebrating FSD approval in Denmark; the footage captured the system driving in a bus‑only lane, making an illegal right turn, ignoring a “no entry” sign, and traveling on a bicycle path.
- Politiken identified at least four traffic violations in the Denmark footage, and FDM (Denmark’s AAA equivalent) called the violations “worrying” and “quite critical.”
- Tesla’s legal defense in U.S. Autopilot/FSD crash lawsuits rests on driver‑supervision responsibility, a strategy weakened after a jury awarded $243 million in the Benavides fatal‑crash case, which a federal judge upheld in February 2026.
- Tesla has retroactively amended FSD purchase contracts to add “supervised” language that was absent when owners originally signed, strengthening plaintiffs’ claims that the company knowingly misled customers.
Why it matters: Plaintiff attorneys gain fresh evidence that Tesla’s marketing encourages the very misuse the company claims drivers are responsible for, potentially undermining its defense in the $14.5 billion litigation and exposing the automaker to larger verdicts and settlements, and increasing pressure on its stock.
