Tesla recently fired an employee called John Bernal after he posted candid videos of his vehicle using the company’s FSD Beta system in the real world. The company also revoked his ability to use the system, despite him having no safety strikes against his account.
Tesla did not officially put into writing why Bernal was being fired but records obtained by CNBC show that Bernal was fired in the second week of February after having moved into the role of advanced driver assistance systems test operator.
Bernal told the outlet that he started his YouTube channel in early 2021 because he viewed FSD Beta as a “potentially life-saving technology.” His channel posted three videos late last year showing three versions of FSD Beta experiencing issues of varying severity.
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In the first week of February, though, Bernal posted a video of his vehicle driving around San Jose, California, and knocking over a bollard when FSD Beta was engaged. Although he acknowledged that the videos showed some issues, he said he was always transparent about his channel and did not keep it from his employer.
Tesla’s social media policy does not specifically comment on how its employees should behave in YouTube videos but it does specify that it “relies on the common sense and good judgment of its employees to engage in responsible social media activity.”
Bernal said he never disclosed anything private in his videos and only reviewed end-user products. He said that he had been dissuaded from posting any negative or critical content in the future that involved FSD Beta, but the company never put anything in writing. Since the majority of the videos were positive, he thought he would be officially told to stop before losing his job.
Although the company’s decision isn’t extraordinary, it did come just days before its CEO, Elon Musk, took to Twitter to say that Starlink would not block Russian news sources, referring to himself as a “free speech absolutist.”
Tesla, though, doesn’t come across as a lover of free speech. It has used mandatory arbitration agreements for its employees to prevent them from publicly suing the company. It also asked early FSD Beta users not to post on social media about their experiences, something regulators feared might hide critical safety complaints.
Bernal said, though, that he still cares “about Tesla, vehicle safety, and finding and fixing bugs,” despite the company’s apparent efforts to prevent him from doing that.
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