--- title: "Godfather of AI Says Elon Musk Is Lying About Self-Driving Teslas" description: "One of the pioneers of artificial intelligence is throwing major shade on Elon Musk's years of broken promises about self-driving Teslas. " date: "2024-09-23" modified: "2024-09-23" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/yann-lecun-elon-musk-lying-fsd" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Self-Driving Vehicles" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "fsd" - "the digest" - "yann lecun" --- # Godfather of AI Says Elon Musk Is Lying About Self-Driving Teslas ![One of the pioneers of artificial intelligence is throwing major shade on Elon Musk's years of broken promises about self-driving Teslas. ]() *\Image: Gotham / GC Images / Chesnot via Getty / Futurism\* ## Car Wars One of the [pioneers of artificial intelligence]() is throwing major shade on Elon Musk's years of broken promises about self-driving Teslas. Yann LeCun, the so-called "Godfather of AI" who currently serves as Meta's AI czar, accused the billionaire of lying "again and again" about when fully-automated Teslas would arrive. "Elon: 'I've kept lying to you again and again about Tesla's 'Full Self Driving' capabilities for the last 8 years," the AI aficionado wrote, "'but you should believe everything I say about politics and everything else.'" ## Haterade While this criticism is always trenchant given that Musk has in fact been [claiming for nearly a decade]() that self-driving cars would arrive "next year," LeCun's comments came in response to a separate and more extensive critique. In the [long-form post](), software CEO and [notorious Tesla hater]() Dan O'Dowd accused Musk of being a "snake oil salesman" for continuing to hype autonomous driving tech that's nowhere near fruition. The meticulously detailed post, which we should note was penned by a guy who [owns five Teslas]() and is now really mad about it, tracks Musk's more recent claims RE: Full Self-Driving (FSD), breaking them down bit-by-bit in the process. "Elon claimed in June that \[FSD\] v12 would finally see the introduction of 'Actually Smart Summon (ASS)', enabling consumers to summon their car with computer vision with \[no one\] in the driver’s seat in 'a month or two,'" O'Dowd noted, "before stating in July that the feature would be available 'next month.'" "ASS is not even legally allowed to operate on public roads," he continued, oblivious or uncaring about how hilarious that sentence sounds. "Elon had yet again made a promise which Tesla is still to this day unable to deliver." LeCun ended up responding to a Tesla fan who informed him that he'd let down a new follower with his Musk "hating." "I don't hate Elon. I hate his lies," [the AI scientist wrote](). "I like his cars, rockets, and satellite network." That's honestly a far kinder statement than many would make — and it makes a lot of sense coming from someone who's urging [responsible thinking and usage of AI](). **More on LeCun:** [*Elon Musk Got Destroyed After Accusing Top AI Scientist of "Going Soft"*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()