A Tesla whistleblower has leaked 100GB of knowledge to the German outlet Handelsblatt containing 1000’s of buyer complaints that elevate critical considerations concerning the security of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) options.
The complaints, which have been reported throughout the US, Europe, and Asia, span from 2015 to March 2022. Throughout this era, Handelsblatt says Tesla prospects reported over 2,400 self-acceleration points and 1,500 braking issues, together with 139 studies of “unintentional emergency braking” and 383 studies of “phantom stops” from false collision warnings.
A number of the incidents talked about by Handelsblatt embody descriptions of how vehicles “all of the sudden brake or speed up abruptly.” Whereas some drivers safely gained management of their car, Handelsblatt says others “ended up in a ditch, hit partitions or crashed into oncoming autos.”
The paperwork obtained by the outlet additionally define Tesla’s insurance policies when responding to the problems prospects expertise and recommend that Tesla likes to maintain its autos’ information below wraps. Listed below are a number of the insurance policies described by Handelsblatt (translated with Google Translate):
For every incident there are bullet factors for the “technical assessment”. The workers who enter this assessment into the system often make it clear that the report is “for inside use solely”. Every entry additionally comprises the notice in daring print that data, if in any respect, might solely be handed on “VERBALLY to the shopper”.
“Don’t copy and paste the report beneath into an electronic mail, textual content message, or go away it in a voicemail to the shopper,” it stated. Automobile information also needs to not be launched with out permission. If, regardless of the recommendation, “an involvement of a lawyer can’t be prevented”, this should be recorded.
According to a note from Handelsblatt editor-in-chief Sebastian Matthes, the outlet’s editorial workforce despatched Tesla a number of questions concerning the information it acquired. As an alternative of answering them, Matthes says Tesla “demanded that the information be deleted and spoke of knowledge theft.” We nonetheless don’t know who offered Handelsblatt with the leaked data, however Matthes notes that the outlet acquired it from “a number of informants.”
That is removed from the primary time considerations about Tesla’s FSD have been raised. Tesla’s FSD capability allows all of the options that include Tesla’s Autopilot and Enhanced Autopilot options, together with automated lane modifications, autosteering, auto parking, and extra. Regardless of these considerations, Tesla made its FSD beta available to everyone in November of last year.
The Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration began looking into Tesla’s FSD software in January after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the corporate would give customers the choice to show off “steering wheel nag.” Round one month later, the company deemed the potential a crash danger, main Tesla to recall 362,758 cars equipped with FSD and pause FSD installations.
