Tesla appears to be entering a crisis regarding privacy and its cameras. A report based on interviews with nine former employees of the tech company claims that from 2019 through mid-2022, some employees used an internal messaging system to share “sometimes highly invasive” videos and images recorded by cameras in customers’ cars.
According to the Reuters report, employees had easy access to the cameras’ output and shared it freely with other employees. Some footage showed Tesla customers in embarrassing situations, such as a completely naked man approaching a vehicle. Although Tesla claims that the cameras in its cars are “designed from the ground up to protect your privacy.” traffic accidents and road rage episodes were also shared.
A video of an accident in 2021 showed a Tesla driving at high speed through a residential area and hitting a child riding a bicycle, according to another former employee. The child flew in one direction, the bicycle in another. The video was disseminated by a Tesla office in San Mateo, California, through private chats.
In addition, the following were shared. “photos of dogs and funny road signs that Tesla workers would turn into internal memes, embellishing them with amusing captions or comments before posting them in private group chats.” Some posts could be seen by “dozens” of the firm’s employees.
A former employee reported seeing “outrageous things.” including “scenes of intimacy, but no nudity”, pieces of clothing, sexual welfare items and “private moments of life that we actually had access to because the car was charging.”
Meanwhile, one of the former employees saw nothing wrong with sharing images, but described a feature that allowed data taggers to see the location of recordings on Google Maps as a ‘massive invasion of privacy.”
Tesla and access to cameras
Tesla’s customer privacy notice states that. “the camera recordings remain anonymous and are not linked to you or your vehicle.” However, according to the article, seven former employees “told Reuters that the software they used at work could show the location of the recordings, potentially revealing where a Tesla owner lived.” Another mentioned to the media outlet that “we could see inside people’s garages and their private properties.”
The Federal Trade Commission could take action against companies that do not fulfill their privacy promises, according to specialists consulted. For the moment, Tesla has not come out to clarify the matter.
