I’ve been a mum for a comparatively brief time; I’m not precisely an professional with regards to this complete parenting factor. Nonetheless, there may be one piece of recommendation I can confidently dole out: don’t instruct your youngster to run in entrance of a transferring automobile as a way to win an argument with strangers on the web. Elon Musk obsessives, I’m taking a look at you.

This month, a software program CEO referred to as Dan O’Dowd, who’s hellbent on attempting to ban Tesla’s “full self-driving” programme, launched an advert marketing campaign claiming that should you put a Tesla on this mode it can mow down youngsters. He based mostly this assertion on a check he ran utilizing a child-sized model wearing a security vest, which got here to a sticky finish in the midst of a highway in California.

Musk’s followers, who won’t tolerate any criticism of the billionaire, instantly took challenge with O’Dowd’s assertions and determined to conduct their very own exams – utilizing an actual youngster.

“Is there anybody within the Bay Space with a baby who can run in entrance of my automotive on Full Self-Driving Beta to make a degree? I promise I gained’t run them over …” tweeted Omar Qazi, a Tesla shareholder and distinguished Musk fan, including: “(This can be a severe request).” Fairly than speaking some sense into the man, his followers eagerly engaged; a day after his preliminary tweet, Qazi introduced that he had discovered a volunteer. “They simply must persuade their spouse,” he added.

The volunteer seems to have been a Tesla investor referred to as Tad Park, who proceeded to direct a Mannequin 3 Tesla at 8mph in the direction of certainly one of his youngsters. The automotive, which was in self-driving mode, slowed down and didn’t strike his child. Hurrah! Park filmed your entire factor and uploaded it to YouTube. It has since been eliminated as a result of, as a YouTube spokesperson instructed CNBC final week, the social platform “doesn’t enable content material exhibiting a minor collaborating in harmful actions or encouraging minors to do harmful actions”. Assuming the position of a crash-test dummy as a result of your dad desires to “make a degree” very a lot falls into the class of “harmful actions”.

Park, I’m sorry to say, was not the one dad or mum who determined it was a good suggestion to rope their youngster into newbie vehicle-testing so as to stick it to Tesla’s critics. A man referred to as Carmine Cupani reportedly obtained his 11-year-old son to face within the path of his Tesla because it was doing 35mph on “full self-driving” mode in a carpark. Demonstrating his dedication to the scientific course of, Cupani then did one other check, on a highway, utilizing his son because the goal. For this one, he used Autopilot, which is Tesla’s much less refined driver-assist software program. His son survived each exams and now has numerous enjoyable tales to inform his associates about that point Dad risked committing aggravated vehicular manslaughter so as to show his loyalty to a automotive firm.

Whereas Park and Cupani’s youngsters emerged from their fathers’ experiments unscathed, each males demonstrated frighteningly poor judgment. However they don’t seem to be the actual drawback right here. The true drawback is that Musk – a person hooked on overpromising – and Tesla have dangerously overhyped the capabilities of self-driving know-how.

It’s extremely deceptive to explain a driver-assist characteristic that requires an attentive human driver always so as to safely operate as “full self-driving” know-how. This isn’t merely my opinion; the California Division of Motor Autos filed a grievance this month with the state, saying that Tesla’s descriptions of its Autopilot and “full self-driving” options have been “misleading”.

Now, earlier than Musk’s rabid followers begin trolling me for stating the plain, let me simply say: this isn’t a success piece. It’s a “please don’t danger hitting youngsters together with your automotive since you are weirdly obsessive about Elon Musk” piece.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

• Do you will have an opinion on the problems raised on this article? If you need to submit a letter of as much as 300 phrases to be thought of for publication, e-mail it to us at guardian.letters@theguardian.com