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The Dawn Project Founder Challenges Elon Musk to Publicly Test FSD

We can say Dan O’Dowd is a man with a purpose. First, he presented tests in which a Tesla Model 3 with Full Self-Driving (FSD) active hit a mannequin representing a child. After that, he mocked the EV maker’s “Cease and Desist” letter for The Dawn Project to stop its campaign against the beta software. His latest move was to challenge Elon Musk for a public FSD test. If we got it right, it will happen whether Musk accepts it or not.
Dan O'Dowd challenges Elon Musk to publicly defend FSD 25 photos
Photo: The Dawn Project/Tesla/edited by autoevolution
The Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenThe Dawn Project pays for a test to demonstrate Tesla vehicles do not stop for childrenDan O'Dowd challenges Elon Musk to publicly defend FSD
The Dawn Project calls the event “the Bout to End All Doubt.” It will have the mission to settle Tesla’s disputes that the former tests performed by the entity were “misinformation,” “seriously deceptive,” and “likely fraudulent.”

The idea is to hold “a public demonstration of Tesla Full Self-Driving’s safety defects in a rigorous test in front of the world with cameras everywhere, every detail checked by all parties.” When The Dawn Project says that “everyone is invited,” it implies that O’Dowd wants to perform these public tests regardless of whether Musk will take part in them or not. He will be a guest, as well as “his entourage, his lawyers, his engineers, everyone in the media, regulators, politicians, pundits, fanboys, and the public.”

Talking about the challenge, O’Dowd addresses the Tesla CEO directly. “It’s time to bet your product, your technology, your reputation, your credibility, your engineering prowess against mine. Are you brave enough to come out and defend your product?”

With the event, O’Dowd wants to give Musk the chance to prove FSD is “the most advanced driverless car technology that will save millions of lives,” as the Tesla CEO usually says. The other possible outcome is The Dawn Project’s founder proving FSD is “the most incompetently designed, implemented, and tested commercial software” he has ever seen. O’Dowd also calls it “stone knives and bearskin technology compared to the leading autonomous driving companies,” something that will be “soon headed for the trash heap of history.”

O’Dowd also does not miss the chance to mock Musk’s constant promises that Tesla robotaxis will be available next year every year. He asks: “Is Full Self-Driving going to live up to its name this year, or will Elon Musk’s pronouncements of full autonomous driving within a year end in failure — as they have for the last eight years? It’s time to find out.” We’ll try to discover when and where this public challenge will take place.


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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
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Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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