First, just noticing I haven't seen much from threads show up on HN. Then this video doesn't really have much in the way of details and 3/4s of it is just his rap video?
edit: I didn't realize that there was more than his stalled car and the rap video. If you keep watching he posts the legal correspondence from Tesla. It does appear that Tesla did exactly what the headline says. Flame away
No matter what the legal dispute is between the rapper and the company, if the claim is true, disabling a vehicle remotely at a in a way that puts the driver at risk, not only should be illegal but a criminal liability. The man is in the middle of the freeway, this should be tried as attempted murder.
Via Certified Mail and Email
RE: CEASE AND DESIST - Unauthorized Use of Tesla Intellectual Property - Cybertruck References in Musical Content
Dear Mr. Huey,
We represent Tesla, Inc. ("Tesla") and are writing to formally address the unauthorized use of Tesla's intellectual property in musical content distributed under your name. Specifically, this concerns your use of the Tesla Cybertruck name and imagery in one or more songs, including but not limited to the track titled:
"Cybertruck"
Our records show that a Tesla Cybertruck associated with VIN 7G2CEHED8RA017384 was previously registered under your name or in your possession. Please be advised that this vehicle has been remotely deactivated due to violations of Tesla's Terms of Use, Including misuse of Tesla's trademarks and brand identifiers in media content that falsely implies endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation with Tesla.
Tesla retains exclusive rights to its registered trademarks and trade dress, including but not limited to
"Tesla," "Cybertruck," and all associated names, logos, imagery, and designs. Your continued use of these protected marks in music, lyrics, titles, cover art, and promotional materials constitutes unauthorized use and may mislead consumers into believing that Tesla endorses or is affiliated with your work.
Accordingly, we hereby demand that you immediately:
1. Remove or revise all publicly distributed music, videos, and media content that reference "Tesla,"
"Cybertruck," or any derivative thereof;
2. Cease and desist from all future use of Tesla's trademarks,
trade dress, and related terms in any creative commercial, or promotional materials;
3. Provide written confirmation of compliance with the above requests within seven (7) days of the date o letter.
Fallure to comply
monora de co compete per ravit evocation or accen to rasia venice systems can da micer injunctive
This letter is sent without prejudice to any of Tesla's rights, all of which are expressly reserved.
Very truly yours,
Junish
Dinna Eskin, Esq.
Sr. Director and Deputy Ge
Tesla, Inc.
If someone else can remotely disable a device that you own, you don't really own it. This kind of thing is why we need full control of our devices as device owners.
This isn't real, you can see the UI element for closing the cars builtin media player on the top of the screen in the video. It's just a video playing on the car screen lol.
Ok, I apologize, but I’ve seen so many fake posts by social media influencers / celebrities at this point that I have to ask: does anyone have a source / verification that this is actually true?
It’s not necessarily that I don’t believe this would be absolutely the par of the course for Elon, I just would like to see a more credible source than a threads post of the rapper. The cease & desist letter in the threads comments looks like it’s AI generated.
Is there any reason not to believe this is just a hoax? I am immediately skeptical I see reported only on Threads (or FB, IG, Twitter, Bluesky, etc) and not corroborated.
I think the question we should be focusing on is why this is possible in the first place? It’s cute when Apple or Google can kick you out of your phone, but something like a car.. highlights the absurdity of the situation we’re in.
As a model y juniper owner this is really fucked up. Full stop this will forever be in my brain when it comes time to buy my daughter her vehicle in 2 years. This is a brand destroyer for Tesla. i really hope it's fake.
It's possible that she copy-pastes her own signature, but this is evidence in favor of the Cybertruck incident being a hoax.
The Cybertruck letter also lists her as "Sr. Director and Deputy General Counsel". But her LinkedIn page lists "Deputy General Counsel & Director, Infrastructure & CapEx" as a previous title; her current title is listed as "VP, Legal": https://www.linkedin.com/in/dinna-eskin-743a7435/
> It's possible that she copy-pastes her own signature
I've been continually using Preview.app's feature to easily insert your signature from a menu using the same signature I scanned in using the camera on my MacBook back when they first added that feature literally 15 years ago. Is this considered weird? I just assumed at this point that other PDF systems had the same feature instead of people actually printing, signing, and scanning.
My past GM trucks I’ve removed that stupid cell module. There is literally 0 reason a car needs an Internet connection. None.
It’s so bad these days I consider it a national security risk. Imagine a Ukraine like scenario where the enemy (or “friendly”) government hacks/disables all cars. This could severely disrupt underground supply lines or be used to concentrate civilians to areas for protecting military targets.
I’m all for deregulation, not regulation, but monopoly laws aren’t being enforced right now and consumers do not have choices in the market.
44 comments
[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 60.0 ms ] threadEdit: I'm an idiot.
Dear Mr. Huey, We represent Tesla, Inc. ("Tesla") and are writing to formally address the unauthorized use of Tesla's intellectual property in musical content distributed under your name. Specifically, this concerns your use of the Tesla Cybertruck name and imagery in one or more songs, including but not limited to the track titled:
"Cybertruck"
Our records show that a Tesla Cybertruck associated with VIN 7G2CEHED8RA017384 was previously registered under your name or in your possession. Please be advised that this vehicle has been remotely deactivated due to violations of Tesla's Terms of Use, Including misuse of Tesla's trademarks and brand identifiers in media content that falsely implies endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation with Tesla.
Tesla retains exclusive rights to its registered trademarks and trade dress, including but not limited to "Tesla," "Cybertruck," and all associated names, logos, imagery, and designs. Your continued use of these protected marks in music, lyrics, titles, cover art, and promotional materials constitutes unauthorized use and may mislead consumers into believing that Tesla endorses or is affiliated with your work.
Accordingly, we hereby demand that you immediately:
1. Remove or revise all publicly distributed music, videos, and media content that reference "Tesla," "Cybertruck," or any derivative thereof;
2. Cease and desist from all future use of Tesla's trademarks, trade dress, and related terms in any creative commercial, or promotional materials;
3. Provide written confirmation of compliance with the above requests within seven (7) days of the date o letter. Fallure to comply monora de co compete per ravit evocation or accen to rasia venice systems can da micer injunctive
This letter is sent without prejudice to any of Tesla's rights, all of which are expressly reserved.
Very truly yours, Junish Dinna Eskin, Esq. Sr. Director and Deputy Ge Tesla, Inc.
https://grok.com/chat/3362d7ec-6eb5-49a4-a8cc-5d748a33c22b
It’s not necessarily that I don’t believe this would be absolutely the par of the course for Elon, I just would like to see a more credible source than a threads post of the rapper. The cease & desist letter in the threads comments looks like it’s AI generated.
Also making repossessions easier and safer is nothing to sneeze at.
It's possible that she copy-pastes her own signature, but this is evidence in favor of the Cybertruck incident being a hoax.
The Cybertruck letter also lists her as "Sr. Director and Deputy General Counsel". But her LinkedIn page lists "Deputy General Counsel & Director, Infrastructure & CapEx" as a previous title; her current title is listed as "VP, Legal": https://www.linkedin.com/in/dinna-eskin-743a7435/
I've been continually using Preview.app's feature to easily insert your signature from a menu using the same signature I scanned in using the camera on my MacBook back when they first added that feature literally 15 years ago. Is this considered weird? I just assumed at this point that other PDF systems had the same feature instead of people actually printing, signing, and scanning.
https://gizmodo.com/a-viral-cybertruck-hoax-got-so-big-tesla...
It’s so bad these days I consider it a national security risk. Imagine a Ukraine like scenario where the enemy (or “friendly”) government hacks/disables all cars. This could severely disrupt underground supply lines or be used to concentrate civilians to areas for protecting military targets.
I’m all for deregulation, not regulation, but monopoly laws aren’t being enforced right now and consumers do not have choices in the market.
Afraid to upgrade truck any further now because of the dumb ipads in new trucks.