Tesla leak got Elon Musk in trouble: “My autopilot almost killed me”

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After Elon Musk (51) wrote negative headlines on the text message service Twitter for months, now the electric car company Tesla is also on the agenda. It looks like there’s been a big data leak at Tesla.

German “Handelsblatt” reported that 100 gigabytes of confidential data said to come from Tesla’s IT systems were leaked to him. The newspaper calls the incident the “Tesla Files” because the leaked data contains a lot of highly sensitive information: related to the personal data of hundreds of thousands of Tesla employees, such as their private addresses and wages, according to the report. .

Self-driving cars accelerate unexpectedly

However, customer data and information about partners are also affected by the leak. According to “Handelsblatt,” the Tesla Files also contain data on projects such as the driverless car, the development of new battery cells, or the planned Cybertruck electric pickup.

According to the report, the data shows that Tesla is experiencing greater problems with autopilot than previously known. According to the leak, the company is facing multiple lawsuits related to its driver assistance systems. Customers, for example, have recorded Tesla vehicles accelerating on their own – injuries and even fatalities are reported.

Complaints from customers are also among Tesla Files. “My autopilot nearly killed me on a route I used repeatedly,” one customer said. “Handelsblatt” contacted dozens of customers – then they confirmed their complaints. Cars that brake suddenly or accelerate suddenly. Some got scared and fled, others said they fell into a ditch, hit walls or hit oncoming vehicles.

In 2021, a Swiss customer reported several faulty stops: his Tesla “suddenly braked after overtaking a vehicle that frightened you”.

Another Tesla customer crashed into a signpost as his Tesla suddenly accelerated like a race car. “I tried to steer but I hit a concrete pillar,” the client recalls. “It crashed but the car didn’t stop. I moved on to the next post. The airbag exploded and I was completely stunned.”

Also the following new complaints

Overall, the leaked Tesla data included more than 2,400 self-acceleration complaints and more than 1,500 brake function issues; these included 139 unintentional emergency braking and 383 phantom stops reported due to false collision warnings. The number of accidents is more than 1000. The complaints come from a period from 2015 to March 2022.

In addition, there are more than 3000 entries in an event table related to driver assistance systems, where customers are raising safety concerns.

An whistleblower contacted the Brandenburg data protection officer in April. Tesla runs a large factory in Grünheide in Brandenburg (D). A spokesperson for the data protection officer “Handelsblatt” said that if the indicators are confirmed, “the issue will be particularly serious from a data protection perspective, due to the large number of people affected worldwide.” The responsible authorities in Germany have launched an investigation. Authorities in the Netherlands have already taken action in this case – Tesla’s European headquarters are here.

According to the report, Tesla suspects a “disgruntled former employee.” He abused his access as a service technician to convey information. Tesla wants to take legal action against the former employee.

“Any abuse you can think of”

“These revelations are disturbing and at the same time fit the picture we’ve had in almost two years from our own impressions and the statements of our colleagues at Tesla,” said the IG Metall union. It is committed to the concerns of Tesla employees in Germany.

Apparently, “the most personal data of employees is vulnerable to any imaginable abuse,” according to the union. At the same time, company management puts a lot of pressure on these employees to meet their wide-ranging confidentiality obligations and hires a security intelligence investigator who must also investigate breaches outside company premises. This bothers many employees.

The union called for “comprehensive disclosure” of all violations of employees’ data protection rights. He recommended that Tesla management promote a corporate culture where “employees can raise their concerns and grievances openly and without fear”. (AFP/sfa)

Source :Blick