Every bit of communication that we put out tells a story, whether it’s a tweet, an Instagram photo, marketing content or specialized literature. A news story is also a story, and despite the declaration of objectivity, it can be angled, skewed or biased.
According to a newly surfaced video, this is precisely the case with the recent CNN video review of the FSD (Full Self-Driving Beta) on a Tesla Model 3 through busy city streets in New York City – a video best described as “frightening.” You can find the CNN video review at the bottom of the page; right next to it is the footage that, according to Jason Tallman, “CNN didn’t want to show you.”
It’s probably standard practice to react with reticence to whatever is titled “Video that [XYZ] doesn’t want you to see,” preferably in all-CAPS and followed by at least a couple of exclamation marks. After all, not everything is a conspiracy theory and not all the Powers that Be are constantly and jointly conspiring to keep us, the peasants, down or out in the dark.
But go past initial reluctance, and give it a go. It might just confirm what the Tesla community has been saying since the CNN video review came out, namely that the review was biased and that CNN was out to paint Tesla in a negative light.
To sum up the controversy that played out on social media and the many Tesla-supporting online platforms, CNN Transportation Editor Mike Ballaban got a Tesla owner from the FSD Beta drivers program to lend him the vehicle for a test drive in Brooklyn. The CNN video that was posted online was very unfavorable to Tesla, showing a panicking Ballaban taking over the wheel to avoid collision on several occasions, and speaking about how he felt unsafe in traffic with the software in control.
The conclusion of the original video was that FSD, despite its name, was not full self-driving – and nor will it be for many years to come. Ballaban didn’t say it outright, but the video implied that Tesla was being reckless for rolling out FSD to the public, because it was a mess and a tragedy waiting to happen.
Tesla supporters were quick to lash out, accusing CNN of putting a hit on Tesla with the video, and Ballaban of being too inexperienced and unfamiliar with FSD to be able to handle it. The whole thing seemed like a deliberate attempt to get clicks by bringing Tesla down – at least to these supporters. Elon Musk thought so too, saying on Twitter that Ballaban’s acting sucked and that CNN put together the material before even taking the Tesla for a drive.
The owner of that Tesla, Jason Tallman, is now speaking up, partly because he doesn’t want to be kicked out of the FSD Beta driver program, partly because he knows the Tesla fans will be coming for him as soon as they will find out who he is. More importantly, though, he’s speaking out because he feels deceived and disappointed in how CNN treated him, and how they ended up editing the video.
In a new video to his YouTube channel, he reveals he filmed the entire ride through Brooklyn, because he suspected something was off from the start. He only agreed to it because he was made to believe CNN wanted to talk to him about his experience with FSD, and he only half-heartedly agreed to let Ballaban do the driving. As a condition for that, he asked that he film the ride with his phone, which he did.
This means he’s able to show the footage that CNN scrapped in the editing room, which, as it so happens, is footage that would have painted FSD in a realistic light. It would have been in line with what Tesla and Tesla drivers are saying about FSD Beta: it’s a driver-assist software that’s paving the way toward full autonomy, but still has some distance to cross until it gets there.
Ballaban, for one, repeatedly says so in the new footage. He appreciates some of the vehicle’s reactions, as well as the fact that it’s learning as it moves, and he admits that it handles better than human drivers most of the time. He also says he’s “skittish” about it because he doesn’t drive a Tesla regularly and because the technology still needs more work, but he adds something about how “this is the future and, to get there, hard work is necessary.”
Based on these two videos and leaving aside the wider conspiracy narrative of how CNN is funded by third-parties interested in bringing Tesla down, it does look like this was a case where objectivity got lost in the shuffle. This would have been a solid opportunity to present FSD Beta objectively, good and bad alike, an educational piece all could have benefited from. Instead, it went for the sensationalist. This isn’t to say that CNN is biased against Tesla in general but that, on this particular instance, the story CNN chose to tell was skewed.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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