Musk personally promotes 98-year-old's "I don't need to watch the road" FSD video — crash lawyers take note
Elon Musk quote-tweeted, with a heart emoji, a video of a 98-year-old New Mexico driver saying he no longer watches the road while using Tesla's FSD (Supervised) — pushing it past 9 million views even as Tesla argues in court that drivers must stay in constant control, handing plaintiffs' lawyers a fresh exhibit.
The clip originated with Sawyer Merritt, who posted footage of Larry, a 98-year-old driver in Farmington, New Mexico, using FSD (Supervised) around town while saying he no longer needs to watch the road because "it just does it." Musk quote-tweeted the clip with a heart emoji, and it topped 9 million views.
The problem: that statement directly contradicts the legal position Tesla takes in FSD crash lawsuits, where the company argues drivers are always responsible for watching the road and intervening immediately. Tesla's own CEO just amplified a case of a driver doing the opposite.
This isn't a one-off. Tesla owners posting their own FSD-misuse clips has already drawn criticism since late August for adding to litigation and regulatory exposure, and Tesla's own promotional videos have previously been accused of glamorizing FSD misuse in ways that undercut the company's legal defense. What's different this time is that the promoter is Musk himself.
The moment also coincides with a U.S. House member demanding answers from the Department of Transportation this same week over 43 videos of Tesla drivers appearing to sleep while using FSD. The video itself is unlikely to trigger new regulatory action on its own, but it adds to a growing pile of legal and public-perception risk tied to how FSD's supervision requirement is portrayed — this time by Tesla's own CEO.
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