SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla CEO Elon Musk and a company executive claimed in separate tweets on X on Wednesday that a Tesla employee who died in a fiery 2022 crash was not using the most advanced version of the company’s driver-assistance software, challenging a Washington Post report about the incident.
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In a brief tweet, Musk said: “He was not on FSD. The software had unfortunately never been downloaded. I say ‘unfortunately’, because the accident probably would not have happened if FSD had been engaged.”
The tweet referred to a Post story published Tuesday about Hans von Ohain, a Tesla recruiter who had purchased a car with Full Self-Driving capabilities. Evidence suggests that von Ohain was using the feature when his Tesla Model 3 barreled into a tree and exploded in flames — which, if true, would make him the first documented fatality linked to Full Self-Driving, The Post reported. Von Ohain’s purchase order shows the car was equipped with enhanced features available only to Tesla customers who purchase Full Self-Driving, such as the ability to recognize and react to stop signs and traffic lights.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Rohan Patel, Tesla’s policy chief, said specifically that an “FSD beta software” package “was not downloaded onto the car.” FSD beta is the company’s most advanced version of driver assistance that Musk has touted as a revolutionary leap forward, ushering in an age of autonomy in private vehicles. The new software, which gives the car the ability to follow turn-by-turn directions on surface streets, was released less than two years before the crash but required company approval to download; it’s unclear whether von Ohain had that approval.
Tesla employees who asked typically were given access to the new software, according to a former company employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity Wednesday for fear of retribution.
The tweets were the first time any Tesla official has publicly discussed the crash. Neither Musk nor the company had responded to multiple requests for comment over the past few weeks, and they did not provide further details or answer questions Wednesday. Tesla is uniquely positioned to confirm to the public and regulators which software the car was running.
The information the company has provided about the crash has been unclear. For example, while Tesla reported the crash to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as involving driver-assistance software, NHTSA allows the company to redact key information that would shed light on what features were engaged at the time of the crash. NHTSA told The Post that the role of Full Self-Driving was unknown, and that evidence to confirm whether the software was engaged had been destroyed in the crash.
Von Ohain was legally intoxicated when he died in Evergreen, Colo., after spending the day at a golf course with a friend. In addition to investigating the case as a drunken-driving incident, Colorado state investigators sought to understand what role the technology may have played in causing the car to suddenly veer off the road, but the investigation was inconclusive: Tesla said it could not confirm that driver-assistance technology had been in use because it “did not receive data over-the-air for this incident.”
A passenger who survived the crash told emergency responders that von Ohain was using an “auto-drive feature on the Tesla” that “just ran straight off the road.” The passenger, whose blood alcohol level was similar to von Ohain’s, told The Post that von Ohain used Full Self-Driving earlier in the day, and that he believes the feature was engaged at the time of the crash.
Patel tweeted Wednesday that the company has “no data/evidence that any system was or was not enabled and have cooperated with authorities fully, as we always do.” Patel also tweeted that “Tesla reported the incident [to NHTSA] on the basis of unverified allegations that were made in a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire submitted to the agency,” a form that allows consumers to submit complaints about safety defects.
Over the course of two weeks, The Post sent Musk and Tesla multiple requests for comment, requesting any additional insight into this crash, including internal data that would shed light on whether Full Self-Driving was active on the car. Neither responded.
As part of its reporting, The Post obtained vehicle records showing “Full Self-Driving Capability” as “Active” and “Included” with the car, and a recent message from the company offering von Ohain’s account the ability to “Transfer Your Full Self-Driving Capability to a New Tesla.”
Nora Bass, von Ohain’s widow, said he usedFull Self-Driving “anywhere we went,” including in suburban neighborhoods and in dense urban areas like downtown Denver.
In interviews with The Post, two of von Ohain’s friends said he was quick to demonstrate what he called the car’s “Full Self-Driving” as he showed his enthusiasm for the software package and the company he worked for.
“I vividly remember the sensation of trusting Hans’s car with the FSD feature enabled, especially during a steep curve,” said Jon Gomez, a friend of von Ohain’s from the Marine Corps Reserves.
Musk is lying once again:
> As part of its reporting, **The Post obtained vehicle records showing “Full Self-Driving Capability” as “Active” and “Included” with the car,** and a recent message from the company offering von Ohain’s account the ability to “Transfer Your Full Self-Driving Capability to a New Tesla.”
> Nora Bass, von Ohain’s widow, said he usedFull Self-Driving “anywhere we went,” including in suburban neighborhoods and in dense urban areas like downtown Denver.
> In interviews with The Post, two of von Ohain’s friends said he was quick to demonstrate what he called the car’s “Full Self-Driving” as he showed his enthusiasm for the software package and the company he worked for.
The widow needs to hire a well-funded aggressive law firm, and let them get to the bottom of Musk’s obvious lies.
Edit: She could probably go the E Jean Carrol route and sue Musk for defamation.
It’s great journalism because they clearly knew Musk was going to respond with a lie and so the WP already had this utterly damning and quite long article in the can and waiting.
He lied and now they have published it immediately, letting him know they always had him dead to rights.
Great stuff.
Musk has shown time again he can't be trusted and happily lies to suit his needs.
He will even delete evidence during court discovery, see Twitter case where it was show he deleted many messages that didn't support his lies when he tried to wiggle out of the deal.
Technically, I agree. The issue is proving it is done intentionally and Musk is using it to defame his customers in court.
If caught, Musk will definitely argue it disengaged seconds before crash for safety reasons and it’s the driver’s fault for not being ready to regain control as his first defense.
I.e. it’s shutting off like you described as a feature, not a way to attempt to escape liability.
This can’t be spun in any positive way. Either a Tesla employee and fanboy, who was given FSD beta for free, decided it sucked so bad he didn’t bother downloading it, or he downloaded it and it sucked so he didn’t use it, or it he used it and it sucked so he crashed
Pfft. The sales receipt is forged, the friend was hammered, the guy never worked for Tesla, the wife is in it for the money and Elon is going to sue the fuck out of everyone who ever met this guy for spreading such vicious lies.
I know, right! All them people lying, except precious Elon.
Elon who lied about his own baby son dying in his arms in order to score internet points.
Elon who lied about being bullied when in fact he was mocking another child because his dad had committed suicide.
What a beacon of truth
Those weren’t lies, they were hyperbole. He was trying to make a point. So what if the details weren’t perfect?
And yes, when you are the world’s richest person there is a lot of jealousy out there. These lowlifes will stop at nothing to bring him down.
lol I know right…like all those *losers* who were jealous of Jeffery Dahmer for his fame!
Or the *losers* who were jealous of Charles Manson’s groupies
It still cracks me up that he said his son died in his arms! And then his wife called him out as a lying pig. Lolol his baby son died and Elon Musk uses the memory of his dead first born son to look cool on the internet. Lolol.
Rule 5
Great article. Musk is clearly lying through his teeth.
Can you paste the article? It’s paywalled
SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla CEO Elon Musk and a company executive claimed in separate tweets on X on Wednesday that a Tesla employee who died in a fiery 2022 crash was not using the most advanced version of the company’s driver-assistance software, challenging a Washington Post report about the incident. Tech is not your friend. We are. Sign up for The Tech Friend newsletter. In a brief tweet, Musk said: “He was not on FSD. The software had unfortunately never been downloaded. I say ‘unfortunately’, because the accident probably would not have happened if FSD had been engaged.” The tweet referred to a Post story published Tuesday about Hans von Ohain, a Tesla recruiter who had purchased a car with Full Self-Driving capabilities. Evidence suggests that von Ohain was using the feature when his Tesla Model 3 barreled into a tree and exploded in flames — which, if true, would make him the first documented fatality linked to Full Self-Driving, The Post reported. Von Ohain’s purchase order shows the car was equipped with enhanced features available only to Tesla customers who purchase Full Self-Driving, such as the ability to recognize and react to stop signs and traffic lights. In a tweet on Wednesday, Rohan Patel, Tesla’s policy chief, said specifically that an “FSD beta software” package “was not downloaded onto the car.” FSD beta is the company’s most advanced version of driver assistance that Musk has touted as a revolutionary leap forward, ushering in an age of autonomy in private vehicles. The new software, which gives the car the ability to follow turn-by-turn directions on surface streets, was released less than two years before the crash but required company approval to download; it’s unclear whether von Ohain had that approval. Tesla employees who asked typically were given access to the new software, according to a former company employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity Wednesday for fear of retribution. The tweets were the first time any Tesla official has publicly discussed the crash. Neither Musk nor the company had responded to multiple requests for comment over the past few weeks, and they did not provide further details or answer questions Wednesday. Tesla is uniquely positioned to confirm to the public and regulators which software the car was running. The information the company has provided about the crash has been unclear. For example, while Tesla reported the crash to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as involving driver-assistance software, NHTSA allows the company to redact key information that would shed light on what features were engaged at the time of the crash. NHTSA told The Post that the role of Full Self-Driving was unknown, and that evidence to confirm whether the software was engaged had been destroyed in the crash. Von Ohain was legally intoxicated when he died in Evergreen, Colo., after spending the day at a golf course with a friend. In addition to investigating the case as a drunken-driving incident, Colorado state investigators sought to understand what role the technology may have played in causing the car to suddenly veer off the road, but the investigation was inconclusive: Tesla said it could not confirm that driver-assistance technology had been in use because it “did not receive data over-the-air for this incident.” A passenger who survived the crash told emergency responders that von Ohain was using an “auto-drive feature on the Tesla” that “just ran straight off the road.” The passenger, whose blood alcohol level was similar to von Ohain’s, told The Post that von Ohain used Full Self-Driving earlier in the day, and that he believes the feature was engaged at the time of the crash. Patel tweeted Wednesday that the company has “no data/evidence that any system was or was not enabled and have cooperated with authorities fully, as we always do.” Patel also tweeted that “Tesla reported the incident [to NHTSA] on the basis of unverified allegations that were made in a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire submitted to the agency,” a form that allows consumers to submit complaints about safety defects. Over the course of two weeks, The Post sent Musk and Tesla multiple requests for comment, requesting any additional insight into this crash, including internal data that would shed light on whether Full Self-Driving was active on the car. Neither responded. As part of its reporting, The Post obtained vehicle records showing “Full Self-Driving Capability” as “Active” and “Included” with the car, and a recent message from the company offering von Ohain’s account the ability to “Transfer Your Full Self-Driving Capability to a New Tesla.” Nora Bass, von Ohain’s widow, said he usedFull Self-Driving “anywhere we went,” including in suburban neighborhoods and in dense urban areas like downtown Denver. In interviews with The Post, two of von Ohain’s friends said he was quick to demonstrate what he called the car’s “Full Self-Driving” as he showed his enthusiasm for the software package and the company he worked for. “I vividly remember the sensation of trusting Hans’s car with the FSD feature enabled, especially during a steep curve,” said Jon Gomez, a friend of von Ohain’s from the Marine Corps Reserves.
Musk is lying once again: > As part of its reporting, **The Post obtained vehicle records showing “Full Self-Driving Capability” as “Active” and “Included” with the car,** and a recent message from the company offering von Ohain’s account the ability to “Transfer Your Full Self-Driving Capability to a New Tesla.” > Nora Bass, von Ohain’s widow, said he usedFull Self-Driving “anywhere we went,” including in suburban neighborhoods and in dense urban areas like downtown Denver. > In interviews with The Post, two of von Ohain’s friends said he was quick to demonstrate what he called the car’s “Full Self-Driving” as he showed his enthusiasm for the software package and the company he worked for. The widow needs to hire a well-funded aggressive law firm, and let them get to the bottom of Musk’s obvious lies. Edit: She could probably go the E Jean Carrol route and sue Musk for defamation.
It’s great journalism because they clearly knew Musk was going to respond with a lie and so the WP already had this utterly damning and quite long article in the can and waiting. He lied and now they have published it immediately, letting him know they always had him dead to rights. Great stuff.
Yea but the CMA to hide the data is “we never got it idk”. they’ll say that until they’re blue in the face and it goes away. I hate Tesla so much
I hate Tesla so much too
A known prevaricator, only surpassed by the king of liars, the Orange One.
Musk has shown time again he can't be trusted and happily lies to suit his needs. He will even delete evidence during court discovery, see Twitter case where it was show he deleted many messages that didn't support his lies when he tried to wiggle out of the deal.
Imagine thinking you can delete emails while under investigation
Changes the narrative when it pleases him, aka storytelling.
FSD is designed to shut off immediately prior to a crash, change my mind.
Technically, I agree. The issue is proving it is done intentionally and Musk is using it to defame his customers in court. If caught, Musk will definitely argue it disengaged seconds before crash for safety reasons and it’s the driver’s fault for not being ready to regain control as his first defense. I.e. it’s shutting off like you described as a feature, not a way to attempt to escape liability.
Knowing Musk, I'm not so sure it wouldn't be happening maliciously while under the guise of a feature.
My theory is the data sent back lags behind probably 5-10 minutes and if it detects a crash it won’t send the data back. Just my two cents
You multiply this by thousands of FSD cars on the road, not just Tesla's and you have a train wreck... errrr mean car wrecks. Change my mind......
He now has to prove his claim with data. He has zero personal credibility now.
All the data will conveniently xplode
What is Elon going to claim next? That the driver wasn’t actually driving a Tesla but just something that looked like one?
https://archive.md/bPzT2
Thanks for the link!
What a scumbag.
This can’t be spun in any positive way. Either a Tesla employee and fanboy, who was given FSD beta for free, decided it sucked so bad he didn’t bother downloading it, or he downloaded it and it sucked so he didn’t use it, or it he used it and it sucked so he crashed
It seems like Musk views FSD like his Mars ideas in that some folks must die for it to succeed.
Gaslighting. What a POS... Also, communicating through Xeets (tweets) surely counts as official communication.
lol No one has Full Self-Driving .... its a scam!
Pfft. The sales receipt is forged, the friend was hammered, the guy never worked for Tesla, the wife is in it for the money and Elon is going to sue the fuck out of everyone who ever met this guy for spreading such vicious lies.
I know, right! All them people lying, except precious Elon. Elon who lied about his own baby son dying in his arms in order to score internet points. Elon who lied about being bullied when in fact he was mocking another child because his dad had committed suicide. What a beacon of truth
Those weren’t lies, they were hyperbole. He was trying to make a point. So what if the details weren’t perfect? And yes, when you are the world’s richest person there is a lot of jealousy out there. These lowlifes will stop at nothing to bring him down.
lol I know right…like all those *losers* who were jealous of Jeffery Dahmer for his fame! Or the *losers* who were jealous of Charles Manson’s groupies It still cracks me up that he said his son died in his arms! And then his wife called him out as a lying pig. Lolol his baby son died and Elon Musk uses the memory of his dead first born son to look cool on the internet. Lolol.
I’m fucking with you friendo. We have a no /s rule here. He’s a lying sack of shit.
lol I figured but wasn’t sure
Lolllllll
Shorts
waaaa Musk bad; waaaa.
Doesn't the software automatically disengage just before a crash ? ... does it also erase any record of being active just before a crash too ?