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The Facts
On Thursday, a California judge ordered a three-hour deposition of Tesla CEO Elon Musk to authenticate specific statements he reportedly made about Tesla's Autopilot feature in 2016.
In a lawsuit brought by the family of Walter Huang — a Tesla 2017 Model X driver who died in a 2018 highway crash — the plaintiffs claim that Musk allegedly said Tesla's Model S and Model X could drive autonomously "with greater safety than a person."
The Spin
Narrative A
While promising in some industries, rapidly developing deepfake technology has become a well-known problem affecting the reliability of evidence and other information sources. Yes, Musk's lawyer's claims could be just legal shenanigans, but the billionaire himself has already been the victim of a deepfake in a scam that used his image to promote a fraudulent cryptocurrency.
Narrative B
There is no doubt that deepfake technology represents a rising fraud threat and will soon become a battleground in the civil discovery process. However, Tesla's legal team's claim that Musk is a target for deepfakes — which is aimed at avoiding his deposition in this lawsuit — is ludicrous. This claim can only increase the importance of his testimony under oath.
Narrative C
Tesla can't deny the reality that there have been dozens of accidents — many deadly — involving its auto-assist system. From the name of the technology to the company's manipulative marketing practices, it's no wonder that so many drivers overestimate it. Musk must accept some responsibility.