Aug 25, 2017 - Energy & Environment

Inside Tesla's Autopilot group

A new spacesuit from Elon Musk's SpaceX, designed for its crewed flights planned for 2018 (AP)

Tesla survives a months-long Wall Street Journal investigation, yielding this front-pager, "Tesla's Push to Build a Self-Driving Car Sparked Dissent Among Its Engineers: Elon Musk's ambitious goals for Autopilot technology have prompted safety warnings and resignations":

  • "Behind the scenes, the Autopilot team has clashed over deadlines and design and marketing decisions ... In recent months, the team has lost at least 10 engineers and four top managers."
  • "A Tesla spokeswoman attributed the turnover in the Autopilot group — which has more than 100 people developing hardware and software — to fierce competition for talent ... Tesla has hired more than 35 people to join its Autopilot group so far this year, and brought on more than 50 in 2016."
  • "In an email, Mr. Musk said he was unhappy with previous Journal articles on the company. 'While it is possible that this article could be an exception, that is extremely unlikely, which is why I declined to comment.'"

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