Tesla removes NDA for Full Self-Driving users – UPDATE

UPDATE, October 12: Tesla owners taking part in the Full Self-Driving system's beta test are no longer required to sign a non-disclosure agreement, legally allowing them to talk to media and upload videos online.

As a part of the 10.2 update rolled out over the weekend, a number of Tesla drivers found the NDA had disappeared, with some taking to Twitter for confirmation on whether it still existed.

CEO and founder Elon Musk responded to one user, hinting the NDA was no longer in place, allowing FSD users to talk freely about their experiences in the beta stages of testing.

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October 1: Tesla boss Elon Musk has admitted his company’s non-disclosure agreement covering its ‘Full Self-Driving’ (FSD) program is being ignored by many beta testers.

The EV builder is currently testing the technology on American roads — which, despite its name, is not truly autonomous.

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Most of Tesla’s ‘FSD Beta’ testers are investors, avid fans, or YouTubers rather than paid drivers. Currently, they are hand-picked by Tesla, but in future regular owners with a safe record are slated to get access to the in-development software.

Before gaining access to FSD Beta (sold as a US$199-per-month subscription), prospective testers sign an agreement advising what they should and shouldn’t publicly share about what they're doing.

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As revealed by Motherboard, the NDA says testers should “remember that there are a lot of people that want Tesla to fail,” and to not “let them mischaracterize [sic] your feedback and media posts”.

It also says any videos should be “share[d] on social media responsibly and selectively…consider sharing fewer videos, and only the ones that you think are interesting or worthy of being shared.”

Despite this agreement, many testers have been posting unflattering situations created under FSD conditions. A recent video from YouTuber and Tesla investor Galileo Russell showed one such incident, in which a self-driving Tesla turned to aim itself at pedestrians.

The clip was shared to Twitter by numerous users including hedge-fund owner Taylor Ogan, which prompted Russell to file a copyright claim. He later told Vice that “Tesla doesn’t want us sharing all the clips from the videos, just like when it looks good because they know people take it out of context”.

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Musk addressed the NDA situation while speaking at the Code Conference on Tuesday, admitting “a lot of videos” are being shared online. “I don’t know why there’s an NDA,” he continued. “We probably don’t need it. People don’t seem to listen to me [and] just ignore it anyway.”

Tesla launched FSD Beta in 2020, rolling out a number of updates since. FSD version 10 was released last month, which the company says has been receiving “fine-tuning and bug fixes.”