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Tesla fired an employee after he posted driverless tech reviews on YouTube

210 points| pseudolus | 4 years ago |cnbc.com | reply

336 comments

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[+] fjklap|4 years ago|reply
"Following Bernal’s dismissal, Tesla also cut off his access to the FSD Beta system in the vehicle he personally owns, a 2021 Tesla Model 3, despite having no safety “strikes” in the software."

This shows that you don't own a Tesla, it owns you. What was Musk saying again about the freezing of the bank accounts of the Canadian truckers?

[+] undefinedzero|4 years ago|reply
This statement is misleading as is evident by the top replies.

He, as many Tesla employees do, got FSD for free from Tesla. He still owns the free FSD after being fired, which as it being an employee perk already seems strange to me.

FSD beta is a closed beta only for people in the top ~1% safety scores and can be revoked for any reason (as has been done for reckless drivers). I assume another Tesla tester perk (he was employed as an FSD tester after all) is getting into the beta program regardless of your safety score. Revoking that employee-privilege after firing is not taking something he owns.

AFAIK Tesla has never taken unlocked addons such as FSD away from cars that were paid for.

[+] savant_penguin|4 years ago|reply
It's an absolute shitstorm that electric vehicles are taking the phone route to near no ownership
[+] oxplot|4 years ago|reply
No one who has access to FSD Beta, is in any shape or form mistaken, to think that Tesla is under any obligation to keep providing the feature whether the driver has a safety score of 100 or not. Tesla clearly states in their terms, before you can turn FSD Beta on, that they reserve the right to take it away at any time for any reason and rightly so.

Our great HN community here throws rocks at Tesla and FSD Beta any chance they get. Why in the world would Tesla allow someone whom they employ, to generate bad press while they're still heavily developing a tech. Isn't FSD Beta already not enough negatively covered?

As for firing the employee, WTF Tesla?

[+] Mountain_Skies|4 years ago|reply
There have been calls for Tesla to brick all of their cars in Russia, which apparently is possible for them to do. I'm sure the company wants to pretend they don't hear those calls because if they did it, it'd scare off a lot of future customers but if they don't do it, they're accused of supporting the invasion of Ukraine. Weird times we live in.
[+] madrox|4 years ago|reply 

  This shows that you don't own a Tesla, it owns you
Come now, kicking someone out of a beta - former employee or not - who is using the access to post reviews is hardly new or unique to this situation. Nor is it unethical.
[+] millerm|4 years ago|reply
If I left a company, where I had access to internal betas, yes I would expect the company to revoke access if I were terminated.
[+] seanmcdirmid|4 years ago|reply
He might not have had to purchased it, it could have been given to him as a perk of employment, and when he was let go...it was rescinded until he could purchase it like everyone else?
[+] oneoff786|4 years ago|reply
The FSD Beta is a free service you need to get invited into, no?
[+] mlindner|4 years ago|reply
Please don't misconstrue the facts. Access to the FSD Beta is not something that everyone just gets. You have to both request access and Tesla has to review your request to access it and then grant you access individually. It's a privilege, not a right, nor something you paid for.
[+] midhhhthrow|4 years ago|reply
Normally I would agree with this assessment but let’s remember it’s a super beta that may have only been given to him because he’s an employee
[+] winternett|4 years ago|reply
Just wait until non-employee people begin to get dropped from support for posting complaints to Twitter (While they're doing 80 on the highway in full autonomous mode).

That's when I'll just start riding a low-tech bicycle everywhere.

[+] hackernewds|4 years ago|reply
If they _really_ despised him, imagine they could crash his car off a cliff as well? This is our self-driving future.
[+] ajross|4 years ago|reply
> This shows that you don't own a Tesla, it owns you

No, it shows that beta software is issued under a license. No one "owns" FSD beta. You apply and get granted access. It's not the car, it's not even the car's native software suite. It's a test version of software Tesla is offering on different terms.

(It's also pretty amazing, fwiw.)

[+] kappattack|4 years ago|reply
Sounds like he broke some kinda of NDA which he probably signed himself, resulting in removal from the beta program and being let go from his position. That kinda sucks, because it seems his content did have a positive spin to it and it doesnt seem like he meant to hurt anyone or the company.

I don't see whats wrong with the action taken though. He probably agreed to these terms and then he broke them. Whether he was aware that he was going against his own agreement or not is out of the question. I don't like Tesla as a company or a car manufacturer (nothing personal, I just wouldnt buy their cars) and I agree that this response was probably to be expected by anyone who was aware of the terms surrounding their employment and the internal beta access that position grants them.

[+] benatkin|4 years ago|reply
I have to share the road with people in the FSD beta program, and I never signed an NDA for the FSD beta program, so I think I should be able to hear people recount their driving experiences on public roads with me.
[+] ryandrake|4 years ago|reply
My guess is you're right. Many companies have terms in their employee agreements limiting what employees can say/post about the company publicly, including via social media, YouTube, and so on. Many are extremely restrictive and enforced regularly. For example, good luck finding a non-throwaway HN poster self-identifying as an Apple employee. I don't talk about my employer here or even contribute to threads about it. These agreements are very common, check your employment agreement--you might have agreed to one, too.
[+] amelius|4 years ago|reply
They are running that beta program on public streets, where everybody's safety is involved.

An NDA is not appropriate as an argument here.

[+] itsoktocry|4 years ago|reply
>I don't see whats wrong with the action taken though. He probably agreed to these terms and then he broke them.

Today I learned that some people in this industry are fine with NDAs and onerous terms of services for "cool" companies.

[+] mlindner|4 years ago|reply
Yes that's precisely what seems to have happened. A lot of people here have irrational hatred toward Musk and/or Tesla though.
[+] alphabetting|4 years ago|reply
His videos were amazing for following FSD. Most sources on Youtube seem very biased in talking up current capability. Pretty shitty to fire him and disable FSD on his car when he made it clear to higher ups he was operating the channel. I can't imagine he gets fired if he put up videos like some do with over the top headlines like FSD SAVED MY LIFE or other hype channels.
[+] tedivm|4 years ago|reply
Amazing how much Musk advocates for free speech for himself (he's super salty over the SEC wanting his tweets to be reviewed, due to his breaking the law previously) but will do anything he can to stifle free speech for others.
[+] hayd|4 years ago|reply
free speech is freedom from persecution from the government, not from your employer.
[+] Jxl180|4 years ago|reply
Tesla has about 100,000 employees yet people seem to operate under the absurd assumption that Elon is in every meeting, in every scrum, and sits in a cubicle managing the HR department. This is most definitely the decision of legal and HR and there’s an excellent chance Elon Musk knows nothing about it.

I can be fired at my 10k employee company after 20 years of service and the CEO will never know of my existence.

[+] Dma54rhs|4 years ago|reply
Free speech doesn't mean no consequences.
[+] jimmygrapes|4 years ago|reply
I really doubt he is the one who fired the person. He could however reinstate them, if there's valid reason to.
[+] gzer0|4 years ago|reply
A lot of comments here seem to miss how exactly Tesla FSD works.

First, it is important to understand that there is FSD and then there is FSD beta. For our purposes, these two are distinct.

  - To be able to use FSD, you must purchase it for $12,000 USD.
  - To be able to use FSD beta you must have FSD AND either 1) have a high enough driver score after which Tesla might invite you to join the FSD Beta or 2) receive access to the FSD beta whilst you are an employee
FSD Beta has extremely strict prerequisites. Some of these conditions include traveling 100 miles or more in a 30-day period, having a computed driver score that must be in the top percentiles of driver safety, and additionally, Tesla must actively be pursuing a fresh batch of FSD Beta invitees.

In anycase, after the entire Otto / Uber lawsuit(s) + one of the engineers supposedly uploading source code files to their iCloud account, Tesla Autopilot really hardened the NDAs around the department. I don't think they were in the wrong.

[+] mctt|4 years ago|reply
From his latest Video 19 hours ago. (Wed 16 Mar 2022 1836hrs GMT)

Tesla FSD Beta San Jose Stress Test https://youtu.be/ByKE6RZjYes

"Hey guys it's AI Addict. If you're new here welcome, if you're a veteran it's good to see you. Today I'm testing FSD Beta in downtown San Jose for another stress test review.

Some of you may know I worked for Tesla helping develop FSD and I test operated their software. Big update there, I was fired from Tesla in February with my YouTube being cited as the reason. Why? Even though my uploads are from my personal vehicle off company time or property, with software I paid for.

The morning of being fired I had zero improper use strikes in my vehicle. Shortly after being fired my system was suspended.

This channel is meant to educate the public by showing honest reviews from experts with industry knowledge. I care about finding important safety bugs and I still want to help, — Luckily this is silicon valley where there is plenty of beta to go around so today I'm in a new tesla."

Auto-generated caption extracted with formatting added by me.

[+] gnkLd|4 years ago|reply
I thought Musk is constantly railing for free speech on Twitter (he inserts himself into any major event, trucker protests, Ukraine). Awaiting his commentary.
[+] 0F|4 years ago|reply
It’s crazy how to truth can hide in plain site. This guys channel had raw footage of FSD driving through terrain deliberately chosen to be difficult and FSD absolutely shined. Just flicking through the channel it’s immediately apparent that FSD is the most advanced self driving system by a mile. But sometimes it made mistakes. And literally any time I have ever seen a video of FSD float to the top of a link aggregator site, it’s a video of one of the mistakes. If you didn’t deliberately look through the archives yourself, you might not ever know that FSD does anything besides make mistakes.
[+] nunez|4 years ago|reply
> When the company fired Bernal late last month, his written separation notice did not include the reason for his firing. It came after one of his videos depicted a drive in San Jose where his car knocked over bollards while FSD Beta was engaged.

This is particularly troubling and concerning. I didn't know that the car was an employee car. Given the timeline presented here, it seemed that he was fired for showing a failure mode for FSD Beta that people absolutely needed to see. (I'm also in the program.)

[+] kube-system|4 years ago|reply
Publicly and knowingly making your employer look bad will get you fired just about anywhere.
[+] alphabettsy|4 years ago|reply
This, and I certainly have my issues with FSD and the way it’s marketed and sold.
[+] jazzyjackson|4 years ago|reply
or perhaps his thinking is that his tesla stock will be worthless if FSD sees wide release before its ready; better to keep their feet to the public fire and push them to improve the product,

doing it out of love, not malice

[+] clouddrover|4 years ago|reply
Musk busily promulgates lies about Tesla's "full self-driving" and gets rewarded. Bernal demonstrates the practical reality of it and gets penalized.
[+] adfgadfgaery|4 years ago|reply
Let's not try to paint him as a hero. He continued working at Tesla despite knowing the fraud they were perpetrating. He endangered everyone around him by operating the "Full Self Driving" "Beta" on public roads despite knowing it didn't work.

He's a conspirator, not a whistleblower.

[+] _carbyau_|4 years ago|reply
He who has the gold, makes the rules.
[+] randcraw|4 years ago|reply
“AI Addict”. Cool. That sounds like a vlog I should enjoy. But I'd never have heard of him or the latest problems with Autopilot if the company hadn't overreacted and made him famous. Thanks for the heads up, Tesla!
[+] pipeline_peak|4 years ago|reply
“The video shows a driverless Tesla being launched out of the mythical Boring tunnel before crashing into a telephone pole.”
[+] josefresco|4 years ago|reply
"free speech absolutist."

What a joke. Typical narcissist behavior. Rules for thee but not for me.

[+] nobodyandproud|4 years ago|reply
Post a criticism on a website like Arstechnica, and you will be downvoted to oblivion.

The lack of transparency across the board means it’s going to take many disasters and lives lost to fix any on-going issues.

[+] stjohnswarts|4 years ago|reply
I'm sure he broke several contractual obligations by doing that. I mean I wish he could do stuff like that, but when you sign a contract you sign a contract.
[+] whoomp12342|4 years ago|reply
welcome to the new age, the dark age of the internet where freedom of speech is not
[+] Jxl180|4 years ago|reply
You don’t have free speech when it comes to your employment. If I made videos representative of my company or its tools when I don’t have the authority to publicly represent my company, I’d be shit canned too. That’s normal policy at corporations. Only specific roles are usually allowed to speak on behalf of the company and its products.
[+] twblalock|4 years ago|reply
Putting yourself in a situation in which the public might assume you are speaking on behalf of your employer is unwise, unless speaking for your employer is your actual job. And even if it is actually your job, it's just common sense that you shouldn't publish content that makes your employer look bad.

It doesn't matter if you have "permission" or your managers are "aware of it." Permission can be revoked. Managers can change their minds or be overruled.

This is just how the world works. Maybe it's not how things should work, but it's reality. This guy learned that lesson the hard way.

[+] mlindner|4 years ago|reply
I'm not sure why people are surprised why someone would be fired for making their employer look bad? If you publicly badmouth your employer you can get fired for it if they want to. This is not something abnormal.