Tesla's 2016 video promoting the cars' self-driving technology was staged, according to Ashok Elluswamy, director of Autopilot software at the company. Ellusway admitted the fakery in a deposition last summer, taken in the case of a Tesla crash that killed an Apple employee.
The previously unreported testimony by Elluswamy represents the first time a Tesla employee has confirmed and detailed how the video was produced.
The video carries a tagline saying: "The person in the driver's seat is only there for legal reasons. He is not doing anything. The car is driving itself."
At the time, Elon Musk promoted the video on Twitter by saying the "Tesla drives itself." But the Tesla was in fact following a predetermined route with human drivers intervening to take control.
