Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

0:00
0:00

Elon Musk Statements About Tesla Autopilot Could Be 'Deepfakes,' Lawyers Claim. Judge Evette Pennypacker Does Not Understand How Far and Advanced This Technology Became

Elon Musk has been ordered to be interviewed under oath to determine if he made specific statements about Tesla's Autopilot feature after the carmaker threw their authenticity into doubt, saying the billionaire was often a target of online "deepfakes".

A California judge has questioned Tesla's defense that Elon Musk's statements about the safety of the company's Autopilot driver assistance system could be deepfakes.

The judge, Evette Pennypacker, made the ruling in a tentative order in a lawsuit brought by the family of Walter Huang, who was killed in a 2018 crash while using Autopilot.

Tesla has argued that Huang was playing a video game on his phone at the time of the crash, and that he ignored multiple warnings from the car. However, Huang's family has pointed to Musk's statements about Autopilot, including a 2016 tweet in which he said that Tesla cars "can drive themselves with greater safety than a human."

Tesla's lawyers have argued that Musk cannot recall making the statements, and that they could be deepfakes. However, Judge Pennypacker said that Tesla's argument is "deeply troubling."

"Their position is that because Mr. Musk is famous and might be more of a target for deepfakes, his public statements are immune," Judge Pennypacker wrote. "This is a dangerous proposition."

Judge Pennypacker tentatively ordered a limited, three-hour deposition, where Musk could be asked whether he actually made the statements on the recording.

The ruling is a victory for Huang's family, who have been fighting for years to hold Tesla accountable for Huang's death. It is also a setback for Tesla, which has been trying to deflect blame for the crash.

The case is still ongoing, and it is not clear whether Judge Pennypacker's tentative order will be finalized. However, the ruling is a sign that the judge is taking the case seriously, and that she is not willing to let Tesla get away with its excuses.


What is a deepfake?

A deepfake usually involves an image or video in which a person or object is visually or audibly manipulated to say and do something that is fabricated.

They have been used to create fake videos of Barack Obama calling Donald Trump a "complete dips**t" and Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg bragging about having "complete control" of people's data.

Deepfakes have also been used to create fake pornographic images of celebrities.

And there are concerns that they could be used to create mass panic or influence elections by creating fake videos of politicians.

Some countries are even attempting to crackdown on deepfakes. In England and Wales, proposals have been put forward to make the creation of pornographic deepfakes without consent a criminal offence.

The images are made using AI technology - though experts are also attempting to use AI to tackle deepfakes by making technology that can more easily pick-out fact from fiction.

California judges often issue tentative rulings, which are almost always finalised with few major changes after such a hearing.

The lawsuit is scheduled to go into trial on 31 July.

It comes after a California state court jury on Friday found Tesla's Autopilot feature did not fail in what appeared to be the first trial related to a crash involving the partially automated driving software.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×