Tesla's lawyers claim that Elon Musk's remarks 'may have been made with deep fakes'

by Tesla Owners Club Belgium

In a lawsuit over a fatal accident caused by Tesla's electric car being held in California's Santa Clara County Superior Court, the defendant, Tesla, submitted a statement submitted by the plaintiff, ``A statement made by CEO Elon Musk in 2016. He claimed that the movie may be a deepfake. In response, a judge ordered Musk to testify under oath as to whether he had actually made certain statements.

Elon, or deepfake? Musk must face questions on Autopilot statements | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/legal/elon-or-deepfake-musk-must-face-questions-autopilot-statements-2023-04-26/

Elon Musk will likely testify about his Autopilot statements | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/26/elon-musk-will-likely-testify-about-his-autopilot-statements/

Elon Musk's statements could be 'deepfakes', Tesla defense lawyers tell court | Tesla | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/27/elon-musks-statements-could-be-deepfakes-tesla-defence-lawyers-tell-court

The lawsuit in question concerns an incident in 2018 in which an Apple engineer was killed in a collision while riding a Tesla Model X.

It has been revealed that an Apple engineer who was complaining about Tesla's autopilot was involved in a Model X collision and died - GIGAZINE

The engineer's family claims that Tesla's Autopilot driver assistance system was a failure. Meanwhile, Tesla claimed that ``the engineer was playing a game on his cell phone before the accident and ignored the vehicle's warnings.''

In this trial, the plaintiff submitted as evidence a video released by Tesla in 2016 that appealed to the autopilot function. The footage showed a Tesla Model This movie can be viewed below.

Full Self-Driving Hardware on All Teslas on Vimeo


The plaintiffs also submitted a recording of Musk saying, 'Model S and Model did.

However, regarding the statement submitted as evidence, CEO Musk asserted through Tesla's lawyer, ``I have no recollection of whether I made the statement in question.'' In addition, Tesla's lawyers stated that ``CEO Musk, like many public figures, is often the target of deepfakes to fabricate statements and actions that he did not actually make.'' questioned its authenticity.

by Tesla Owners Club Belgium

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Yvette Pennypacker wrote, ``The argument that Musk's celebrity makes him vulnerable to deepfakes and that his public statements could be made with impunity is deeply troubling.'' He tentatively ordered that ``CEO Musk testify under oath to ask whether he actually said what he said.''

Reuters asked Musk CEO, Tesla, and the plaintiff's lawyers for comment, but there was no response at the time of writing.

In addition, Tesla won a lawsuit over a collision accident during autopilot that occurred in 2019, with a judgment that ``the plaintiff's lack of attention as a driver was the cause of the accident.''

Tesla wins lawsuit over autopilot collision accident - GIGAZINE