Whistleblowers at Tesla say chief executive Elon Musk misled buyers and undermined safety with an Autopilot driving system that was previously blamed for fatal crashes.
The former workers have come forward with damning allegations that the world's second richest man contributed to the risks posed by the Autopilot system deaths because of Musk's desire to use only cameras and ditch sensors.
At least 10 people have been killed in eight accidents in which Tesla's Autopilot was engaged since 2016, according to reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Agency.
When Tesla's Autopilot technology began, it initially incorporated cameras, radar and sensors.
However, Musk, 50, earlier this year tasked engineers with building a car that relied only on cameras for its autopilot feature, sources told The New York Times.
'They said the Autopilot team continued to develop the system using radar and even planned to expand the number of radar sensors on each car, as well as exploring lidar — 'light detection and ranging' devices that measure distances using laser pulses,' the outlet reported.
'But Mr. Musk insisted that his two-eyes metaphor was the way forward and questioned whether radar was ultimately worth the headache and expense of buying and integrating radar technology from third parties,' according to four people who worked on the Autopilot team.
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