• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
People in disbelief after boycott Tesla ads air during the Super Bowl with Elon Musk in the crowd

Home> News> Tech News

Published 10:15 12 Feb 2024 GMT

People in disbelief after boycott Tesla ads air during the Super Bowl with Elon Musk in the crowd

The Dawn Project aired an advert during the 2024 Super Bowl.

Kerri-Ann Roper

Kerri-Ann Roper

The Super Bowl is a big annual occasion as far as ads are concerned - the trailer debuts and ad spend make for a story that easily rivals the on-field action.

While most of these ads are for movies and familiar brands, every so often one pops up that comes a bit more out of left field, and in some cases these happen multiple years running.

Case in point - technology group The Dawn Project returned for a second year in a row this year, with a 30-second ad spot targeted directly at Tesla, even while the company's owner Elon Musk sat in the crowd and watched the game.

The Dawn Project has aired a Super Bowl advert asking for a Tesla boycott
The Dawn Project has aired a Super Bowl advert asking for a Tesla boycott

Advert

The ad centers on Tesla's Full Self-Driving beta, a software option that lets Tesla drivers test exactly what it sounds like - a self-driving mode for their car.

The mode is incredibly impressive in controlled environments and many real-world tests, but critics argue strongly that it shouldn't be allowed on public roads until it's 100% finished and safe, citing tests and investigations that have showcased alleged errors in the driving software's calculations.

The Dawn Project has been agitating on this front for a while, citing investigations around Full Self-Driving's approach to parked school buses and child pedestrians, and used the 2024 Super Bowl to again drive their point home.

If you're wondering how much these ads cost to place, you're on the right track, since it's estimated to total around $500,000 (the ad didn't air nationwide but in certain states). That's a big bill to try to make this argument, and the reaction on social media is quite a mixed bag.

Advert

The Dawn Project's founder, Dan O'Dowd, posted about the ads on X (formerly Twitter), a platform also owned by Elon Musk, and the responses to his post were fairly hostile.

Given how high his public profile is right now, most stories involving Elon Musk do inspire polarised responses, so it's not a huge surprise to see this level of discussion.

Elon Musk at the Super Bowl.
Getty Images/Harry How / Staff

Last year, Tesla recalled nearly all vehicles sold in the US, totalling more than 2 million, to update software and fix a defective system to ensure that drivers are paying attention when using Autopilot.

Advert

The recall followed a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and covered models Y, S, 3 and X produced between October 5 2012, and December 7 last year.

Tesla did not concur with NHTSA’s analysis but agreed to the recall on December 5 in an effort to resolve the investigation.

Tesla also posted on X, formerly Twitter, previously to say safety is stronger when Autopilot is engaged.

Tesla has been contacted for comment.

Advert


Featured Image Credit: The Dawn Project/YouTube / Rob Carr / Staff / Getty Images
Tesla
Elon Musk

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Insane amount of money you'd have today if you invested $10,000 in Tesla when Elon Musk first announced robotaxi
  • Elon Musk's billionaire rival calls out Tesla after self-driving vehicle slams into child-sized mannequin
  • Elon Musk sued British television company for $171,000 over one bad Tesla review
  • 'Wild' footage of Tesla Model Y driving itself to new owner leaves everybody saying the same thing

Choose your content:

15 hours ago
17 hours ago
18 hours ago
  • 15 hours ago

    Donald Trump slams 'trainwreck' Elon Musk as 'off the rails' in savage social media post

    Don't cross the POTUS

    News
  • 17 hours ago

    Once booming Florida town collapses as it's crowned 'worst housing market in America'

    This comes as Florida faces devastating floods in recent years

    News
  • 17 hours ago

    Scientists make breakthrough in search for Amelia Earhart's plane that's been missing for 88 years

    Earhart mysteriously disappeared in 1937, leaving no trace of her whereabouts

    Science
  • 18 hours ago

    Student forgot he invested $27 in Bitcoin for school project and returned to stunning fortune years later

    An unexpected boost to the pension pot

    News