Facebook cofounder accuses Tesla of being the next 'Enron'

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the allegations made by Dustin Moskovitz, the Facebook cofounder and CEO of Asana, against Tesla. Moskovitz claimed that Tesla has misled consumers "on a massive scale" regarding its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software and vehicle ranges. The article also covers the response from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who insulted and criticized Moskovitz on social media.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Moskovitz's Allegations Against Tesla

1. What are the key allegations made by Dustin Moskovitz against Tesla?

• Moskovitz alleged that Tesla has misled consumers "on a massive scale" regarding its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software and vehicle ranges.
• He claimed that Tesla is the "next Enron" and that people will end up in jail due to the company's alleged misconduct.
• Moskovitz provided graphs from Tesla that he claims reveal the company's attempts to show an increase in miles driven with FSD, which is critical for Tesla's path to autonomous driving and robotaxis.

2. What is the context of Moskovitz's allegations?

• Moskovitz is a Facebook cofounder who later founded Asana, and he has long been skeptical of Elon Musk and Tesla's ventures.
• Last year, Moskovitz suggested that Tesla and SpaceX are overvalued and that Musk is given too much credit for the companies' success.
• Moskovitz has also called on Musk to resign from his executive roles in all his companies after Musk endorsed an antisemitic post on X (formerly Twitter).

[02] Tesla's Response and Legal Challenges

1. How did Tesla and Elon Musk respond to Moskovitz's allegations?

• Tesla and Asana did not respond to a request for comment.
• Elon Musk responded by hurling insults and a slur at Moskovitz on X, and later apologized for calling him a "retard" while continuing to criticize him.

2. What legal challenges has Tesla faced regarding its FSD technology and vehicle ranges?

• Tesla has faced lawsuits and probes from federal regulators regarding its FSD technology or Autopilot and its vehicle range, but there are no legal challenges related to the company misleading people about mileage usage with its driver-assistance features.
• Most lawsuits have come from drivers who alleged that Tesla is misleading customers about FSD's capabilities, but the company has either settled or been found not liable.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating whether Tesla sufficiently addressed issues with its Autopilot software after a December recall of 2 million vehicles.
• The Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating how Tesla's driver-assistance software was marketed and if Musk had any involvement in the promotion of the technology.
• Drivers have accused Tesla of inflating its vehicle mile range, bringing a class-action lawsuit against the company, but a judge said plaintiffs will have to go through individual arbitrations.