It turns out that Tesla’s FSD Bet actually does stop for kids and pedestrians as demonstrated in a video with both a mannequin and an actual child. Recently, the founder of the Dawn Project who is also the CEO of Green Hills Software, which makes automated driving systems, Dan O’Dowd, claimed that Tesla’s FSD Beta did not stop for a child-sized mannequin. This led to a mainstream media storm against Tesla and its life-saving technology.
Tesla owner and FSD Beta Tester, @WholeMarsBlog asked if there were anyone in the Bay Area with a child who could run in front of his car while FSD Beta was engaged. Many took this as a joke, however, The Verge published an open letter to @WholeMarsBlog asking him not to do this.
It turned out that there was someone in the Bay Area willing to allow his child to put Tesla’s FSD Beta to the ultimate test. And it should be noted that the person who allowed this was the driver during the test.
In a Twitter DM, @WholeMarsBlog told me:
“Our tests showed that Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta has no problem detecting pedestrians of all ages. As long as the driver is paying attention, which the system ensures, there is no risk to pedestrians even in the event that the software fails to detect them.”
“This is driver assistance and is not expected to be perfect. It sickens me that Dan O’Dowd would push harmful misinformation to benefit himself financially. He should be charged criminally for false advertising, along with any stations that ran his ads. I don’t have millions to spend on ads like Dan, so please share the video on social media so that everyone who saw Dan’s ad can see our test too.”
Tesla FSD Beta doesn’t hit the mannequin or the child.
In a series of tests involving a child-sized mannequin dressed up and later on a child, Tesla’s FSD Beta proves to not do as O’Dowd claimed it would do.
During the first test, the mannequin was standing in the middle of the street and the car wouldn’t move once FSD Beta was turned on. After moving the mannequin further down the road, the group engaged FSD Beta and it slowly began to move forward.
Once it got closer to the mannequin, it slowed down and came to a complete stop. @WholeMarsBlog showed a detailed look at the screen which showed that Tesla’s FSD Beta detected a pedestrian in the street. It should be noted that, unlike O’Dowd’s video, there were no cones on either side of the vehicle blocking the car from moving around the mannequin.
In the next test, they moved the mannequin a little to the right. The vehicle not only recognized that there was a pedestrian in the street but easily moved around it safely.
Testing Tesla’s FSD Beta with People
In the next series of tests, one of the members of the group, Alvey, participated. Alvey stood in the middle of the street and FSD Beta immediately recognized Alvey as a pedestrian and came to a complete stop at a safe distance. Next up, Alvey walks in front of the car as it’s driving and the car immediately stopped.
In the next test, Tad Park, the CEO of Volt Equity took the driver’s seat. Tad said that he trusted the system enough and has tried FSD Beta previously.
“I would trust my kids’ lives with it and so I’m very confident that it’s going to detect my kids. And then, I’m also in control of the vehicle so I can brake at any time.”
Not only does Tesla’s FSD Beta detect Tad’s son, but it stopped for him. In the next test, Tad’s son crossed the street in front of the moving vehicle. Again, FSD Beta recognized what was happening and reacted accordingly. It slowed down and @WholeMarsBlog pointed out that it waited for him to cross and then continued on.
Attempting to run the mannequin over at a higher speed
The next test was for them to run the mannequin over at a higher speed. They moved it far enough that it was almost out of view but Tesla Vision still detected it. They accelerated to 40 miles per hour but instead of hitting the mannequin, FSD Beta slowed down and moved over to the right.
“It’s not like the commercials you see on TV.”
The video disproves the claim that Tesla FSD Beta will hit kids and do so repeatedly. You can watch it below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu4ZEnIwYZI
Disclaimer: Johnna is long Tesla.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @JohnnaCrider1
Elon Musk
Tesla Supercharger Diner officially opens: menu, prices, features, and more
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles is open after seven years in the making.

Tesla has officially opened its Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles to the public for the first time. It is an 80-Supercharger lot with two movie screens and a full-service 24/7 diner that serves a wide variety of locally sourced food for patrons while they charge or even just stop by.
It is not exclusive to Tesla owners, as anyone can stop by to experience the Diner and movie theater. It officially opened to the public at 4:20 p.m. local time.
🚨 The Tesla Supercharger Diner, as of 4:20pm local time, is officially open to the public!
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 21, 2025
In 2018, CEO Elon Musk said he was hoping to build a full-scale 50s era diner that served as a drive-in movie theater. Seven years later, it has officially come to life, and in typical Tesla fashion, it opened at a very appropriate time of day. We heard of people waiting as many as 13 hours for the site to open.
Tesla Diner Menu
BURGERS & SANDWICHES
- Tesla Burger: $13.5
- 1/3 lb. prime Brandt Beef with New School American cheese, lettuce, caramelized onions, pickles and Electric Sauce on a Martin’s Potato Roll
- Add bacon: $3
- Add Wagyu beef chili: $3
- Add organic free-range fried egg: $2
- Sub veggie patty
- Hot Dog: $13
- All-beef Snap-o-Razzo hot dog with mustard and onion pickle relish on a Martin’s Potato Roll. Served with fried potatoes
- Add New School cheese sauce: $1
- Add Wagyu beef chili: $1
- Diner Club Sandwich: $13
- Roasted turkey, Epio Bacon, blistered cherry tomatoes, lettuce, avocado and maple black pepper mayo on toasted Tartine buttermilk bread
- Tuna Melt: $14
- Wild-caught albacore tuna salad with New School American cheese and pickles on grilled Tartine buttermilk bread
- Fried Chicken & Waffles: $15
- Classic or spicy pickle-brined organic free-range chicken between two buttermilk waffles with maple black pepper mayo
- Add New School cheese sauce: $1
- Add bacon: $2
- Add organic free-range fried egg: $3
- Sub Martin’s Potato Roll
- Grilled Cheese: $9
- New School American cheese on grilled Tartine buttermilk bread
- Add blistered tomatoes: $1
- Add Avocado: $1.50
- Add Epic Bacon: $3
ALL-DAY BREAKFAST
- Egg Sandwich: $12
- Two organic free-range scrambled eggs on a Martin’s Potato Roll with Epic Bacon, New School American cheese, baby arugula and Electric Sauce
- Add avocado: $1.50
- Substitute waffle Avocado Toast: $11
- Sliced avocado, lime, tomatoes, pepitas, radish and arugula on toasted Tartine buttermilk bread
- Greek Yogurt Parfait: $9
- Strauss Creamery organic Greek yogurt, roasted strawberries, organic gluten-free granola and local honey
- Breakfast Tacos: $9
- Organic free-range scrambled eggs, beef chorizo, crispy potatoes and New School American cheese sauce folded inside two Tehachapi Grain Project organic flour tortillas. Served with a side of avocado crema
- Sub bacon: $1
- Add avocado: $1.50 Biscuits & Red Gravy: $15
- Buttermilk biscuit with beef chorizo gravy and an organic free-range fried egg
- House-Baked Cinnamon Roll: $7
- Warm, frosted cinnamon roll with flaky salt
SIDES
- Tallow-fried French fries: $4
- Make it a cheese fries: $1 extra
- Make it Wagyu chili cheese fries: $3 extra
- Hash Brown Bites: $8
- Crispy, tallow-fried shredded potatoes served with choice of dip
- Wagyu Beef Chili Cup: $8
- RC Provisons Wagyu beef chili with diced white onion and New School American cheese sauce
- Buttermilk Waffle: $5 • Dusted with powdered sugar, served with real maple syrup
- Market Salad: $10
- Market kale and arugula, blistered cherry tomatoes, radishes, celery, shredded carrots, avocado, salted pepitas and toasted breadcrumbs.
- Served with Dilly Ranch
- Add roasted turkey: $3
- Add fried chicken: $3.50
- Add veggie patty: $4.50
- Add tuna salad: $5
- Epic Bacon:
- $12 Four strips of maple-glazed black pepper bacon served with choice of dip
KIDS MENU
- Kids Burger: $13
- Prime Brandt Beef with New School American cheese
- Kids’ Grilled Cheese: $13
- New School American cheese on grilled Tartine buttermilk bread. No crust
- Chicken Tenders: $13
- Made with organic free-range chicken
DESSERTS
- Soft Serve: $6
- Chocolate, vanilla or swirl
- Slice of Pie à la Mode: $12
- Warm slice of Winston’s apple or pecan pie (gf) served with Valley Ford Creamery softserve a la mode
- Chocolate Chip Cookie: $5
- Warm chocolate chip cookie with flaky sea salt
DRINKS
- Cane sugar sodas: $4 each: Cola, diet cola, lemon-lime, root beer, orange, black cherry or cream.
- Milkshakes $8
- Vanilla, chocolate or strawberry. Make it a Pie Shake for an extra $4
- (apple or pecan).
- Lemonade: $4
- Organic Draft Kombucha: $8
- Drip Coffee: $4
- Nitro Cold Brew: $4.5
- Espresso (hot, iced, decaf): $4
- Cappuccino (hot, iced, decaf): $5.5
- Latte (hot, iced, decaf): $6
- Iced Nitro Matcha: $6.5
- Charged Sodas:
- Creamsicle: $7
- Orange soda, cream soda, vanilla foam, fresh orange and orange popping boba
- Shirley Temple: $7
- Lemon-lime soda, grenadine, fresh lime and maraschino cherries
- Lime Rickey: $7
- Lemon-lime soda and fresh lime
- Catawba Flip: $7
- Grape soda, vanilla foam, nutmeg and grapes
- Dirty Kombucha: $10
- Citrus kombucha, vanilla foam, fresh orange and lime, maraschino cherries.
- Creamsicle: $7
Tesla Diner Details
The opening of the Diner was launched by Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s Chief Designer:
🚨 Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen kicks off the Tesla Diner’s opening to the public: pic.twitter.com/c4utYKv1ZD
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 21, 2025
There is also merchandise available at the Diner, including:
- Tesla Bot Action Figure
- Hollywood Retro Diner Tee
- Tesla Sweets | Supercharged Gummies: Dog Mode Chill, Mango Bolt, and CyberBerry
- Tesla Diner Trucker Hat
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s Neuralink posts massive update with new milestone
This is the first time Neuralink has successfully implanted two patients in a single day.

Elon Musk’s Neuralink has posted a massive update with a new milestone that puts the company’s progress into perspective. Over the past few years, we have seen tremendous strides in Neuralink’s capabilities.
Now, the company has completed a new first, bringing more hope to the future of this revolutionary technology.
Neuralink’s third brain chip patient shares first video edited with BCI
Neuralink revealed in an update on Monday morning that it has officially completed two implants in a single day, with Patients 8 and 9 both receiving devices over the past weekend.
“Both participants are recovering well and in great spirits,” the company said in the short update. It did not disclose which day the surgeries were completed, but it did state explicitly that they both occurred on the same day:
We successfully completed both P8 and P9 this weekend, our first time performing two surgeries in one day. Both participants are recovering well and in great spirits. We are looking forward to supporting them on their Neuralink journey.
— Neuralink (@neuralink) July 21, 2025
Musk said that Neuralink’s capabilities could do “life-changing good for ultimately millions, maybe billions, of people.” Right now, it is being used to help combat life-altering diseases, such as ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, as well as cervical spinal cord injuries.
Eventually, Neuralink could resolve things like anxiety, depression, and blindness, among many other ailments.
Its Link device also received FDA recognition for speech restoration earlier this year, marking a significant bit of progress in the program as it explores ways to cure ailments of various natures.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk gives key update on plans for Tesla Diner outside of LA
More Tesla Supercharger Diners are on the way, Elon Musk says, as long as the initial one is successful.

Elon Musk has given a key update on its plans for the Tesla Supercharger Diner, as the first location in Los Angeles is set to open today, July 21.
The idea for the Supercharger Diner, which resembles a 50s-style eatery with elements of futuristic technology, is seven years in the making. Many wondered whether Tesla would expand its idea for a Supercharger restaurant outside of LA, and now we have an answer directly from Musk.
Elon Musk confirms awesome new features at Tesla Diner Supercharger
The Tesla CEO said that the company will establish these types of experiences “in major cities around the world, as well as at Supercharger sites on long distance routes.”
If our retro-futuristic diner turns out well, which I think it will, @Tesla will establish these in major cities around the world, as well as at Supercharger sites on long distance routes.
An island of good food, good vibes & entertainment, all while Supercharging! https://t.co/zmbv6GfqKf
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 21, 2025
The Supercharger Diner has plenty of ways to draw in customers, and although the food and merchandise sold at the location will not be a major contributor to Tesla’s balance sheet, where investors want to see it, it could pay off in other ways.
The Diner is not exclusive to Tesla owners, so those who drive gas cars can still stop in for a burger, fries, and a shake while roaming around Los Angeles. The features of the Diner, however, do require a Tesla vehicle.
In-car ordering and movie screens syncing to the center touchscreen are two things that Tesla owners will enjoy that other drivers will not. These might be trivial, but the experience on its own could be a way that some consider buying a Tesla.
It might sound crazy that a singular diner experience would flip someone to buy a car, but it’s not the most outlandish thing we’ve ever come across.
The question is where Tesla will plan to build these Supercharger Diners. Musk has already indicated that Starbase, Texas, will be one location, which fits with one of his other companies, SpaceX.
Austin could be an ideal location, but New York, Miami, Washington D.C., Boston, and plenty of other popular metro areas within the U.S. could see their own diners in the coming years.
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