---
title: "Elon Musk: Tesla Security Was “Overzealous” In Kicking Out Drone Photographer"
description: "Tesla CEO Elon Musk has issued a mea culpa in the case of a drone photographer who was told to stop filming at the company's Giga Texas construction site."
date: "2020-08-28"
modified: "2020-08-28"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-overzealous-drone-photographer"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Drones"
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
  - "Tesla"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "giga texas"
  - "tesla"
  - "the digest"
---

# Elon Musk: Tesla Security Was “Overzealous” In Kicking Out Drone Photographer

![Tesla CEO Elon Musk has issued a mea culpa in the case of a drone photographer who was told to stop filming at the company's Giga Texas construction site.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/elon-musk-overzealous-drone-photographer.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Steve Jurvetson via Flickr/Futurism\</em\>*

## Drone Zone

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has issued a mea culpa in the case of a drone photographer who was told to stop filming at the company's Giga Texas construction site yesterday.

"I think our security was a little overzealous in this case," Musk [tweeted early this morning](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1299203602662137862>).

## Over Zealots

Photographer Jeff Roberts was using a drone to film construction of Tesla's new factory near Austin, Texas when he says he was approached by Tesla security personnel who told him to stop filming.

"Today, site security told me to 'ease and desist' all filming of the Tesla 'Giga Texas' Construction site," he wrote in a video about the event. "They stated that continued filming would be 'criminal trespass' and that they would press charges."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SvDYIxhsEc

## Fair Distance

But Musk says that the company is backing down, and that "reasonable" drone photography of the site will be allowed.

"I’m fine with reasonable drone footage," Musk [tweeted](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1299203602662137862>). "Just needs to be at a fair distance and not coming right up to people."

**More on Tesla:** [*A Hacker Reportedly Gained Access to Tesla’s Entire Fleet*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/hacker-reportedly-gained-access-teslas-entire-fleet>)

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)