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Tesla Fans, Musk Lash Out at NHTSA Safety Adviser as Biased
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Elon Musk and thousands of Tesla Inc.’s die-hard fans and customers are in an uproar about NHTSA’s new pick as its senior safety adviser.
Their target is Mary “Missy” Cummings, a Duke University professor critical of Tesla’s Autopilot software who was chosen this week for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration role. The former U.S. Navy pilot is also on the board of Veoneer, a Swedish company that is being acquired by Qualcomm Inc. Musk, Tesla’s chief executive officer, has scorned the laser-based technology called lidar that’s promoted by Veoneer and has been adopted by rival automakers.