The National Transportation Safety Board, a US government agency that investigates accidents, ordered the Dawn Project organization to stop using its seal after it appeared in a Super Bowl ad calling on consumers to boycott Tesla.
The NTSB he said in a letter that his stamp must be immediately removed from the Dawn Project’s website and YouTube page, as well as any further airings of the commercial. NTSB he said in a press release that she did not authorize the use of her stamp and does not subscribe to the work of the Dawn Project.
“We used the NTSB seal in our second Super Bowl LVIII commercial while referring to Tesla’s refusal to implement the NTSB’s prudent safety recommendations, recommendations with which The Dawn Project fully agrees,” an emailed statement from a spokesperson for the Dawn Project . “Unlike Tesla, we have a lot of respect for the NTSB.”
The Dawn Project, a security advocacy group funded by tech CEO Dan O’Dowd, aired two ads during Super Bowl LVIII in Washington, D.C., Dover, Delaware, Santa Barbara, California, and Traverse City, Michigan – the city where US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg lives. The cost of running the ads in those markets was $552,000.
The ads criticize Tesla Full Self-Driving, the advanced driver assistance software that O’Dowd claims has significant security flaws. FSD is not standalone. Instead, the upgraded $12,000 system performs some automated driving tasks and requires a human driver to be ready to take control at all times.
The Dawn Project has campaigned against using Tesla FSD for years, including airing an ad at last year’s Super Bowl. This year, the group used the NTSB seal in its advertising, which caught the agency’s attention. NTSB General Counsel William McMurry Jr. called the use illegal and noted that the commercial has also been posted on the group’s website and YouTube page.
The agency also included a screenshot of the ad, which can be seen below.
Image Credits: NTSB
“Due to the nature of our work and the need to be clearly independent of commercial interests, we strive to protect the NTSB’s international reputation by preventing unauthorized use of our seal,” the letter states. “Contrary to federal law, you did not obtain and the NTSB did not grant a license to use the NTSB seal in your Super Bowl LVIII commercial or any other materials. Additionally, your unauthorized use of the NTSB seal falsely implies NTSB endorsement of your company and/or message.”
