Tesla Autopilot, Full-Self Driving

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Incidents and issues 🔥

• April 2023. A Reuters report alleged Tesla employees had been privately sharing private videos images and videos recorded by its customers' car cameras on its internal messaging system and with third party suppliers in order to improve Tesla's computer vision machine learning systems. 

• February 2023. An investigation by the Netherland's Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (Dutch Data Protection Authority) ruled Tesla had violated the privacy of people coming close to its cars. Tesla's Sentry Mode uses four cameras continuously filming everything around a parked vehicle to protect it against theft and vandalism, with images saved for one hour in the car itself.

• October 2022. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) opened a civil investigation into whether Tesla had been misleading investors about the safety of its Autopilot system, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

• A 2021 study of three Tesla Model 3 cars discovered (pdf) they exhibited 'significant between and within vehicle variation on a number of metrics related to driver monitoring, alerting, and safe operation of the underlying autonomy... suggest[ing] that the performance of the underlying artificial intelligence and computer vision systems was extremely variable.'

• Tesla owners have also complained about the 'phantom braking' of their vehicles, an issue traced by the Washington Post to Tesla's decision to stop using radar sensors in new vehicles in order to move to its Tesla Vision camera-based system, and to an update to its Full-Self Driving beta programme.

• Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk have been regularly dogged by accusations of systematically over-stating Autopilot and Full-Self Driving (FSD) capabilities, and under-stating their role in accidents - allegations have resulted in multiple complaints, investigations, and lawsuits against Tesla.

Fatal accidents 🔥

Autopilot and FSD are considered likely to have been involved in and/or responsible for the following fatal accidents:

• July 2023. Tesla Model 3 collides with Subaru Impreza, kills two

• July 2023. Tesla Model Y crashes into tractor-trailer, killing driver

• February 2023. Tesla Model 3 crashes into bus in Rui’an, kills one

• November 2022. Tesla Model Y collides with two cars in Taizhou, kills two

• November 2022. Tesla Model Y Chaozhou crash kills two, injures three

• August 2022. Tesla rear-ends Kawasaki motorcycle, kills rider

• July 2022. Tesla Model Y rear-ends Yamaha motorcycle, kills rider

• July 2022. Tesla Model 3 rear-ends Harley-Davidson, kills rider

• May 2022. Drunk driver using Tesla FSD killed after car hits tree

• May 2022. Tesla Model S strikes curb, kills three passengers

• July 2021. Tesla kills New York man changing tyre on expressway

• May 2021. Tesla Model 3 strikes over-turned truck, kills driver

• April 2021. Tesla Model S crashes into tree, kills two passengers

• September 2020. Tesla Model S kills truck driver standing on road

• December 2019. Tesla Model S runs red light, kills two

• August 2019. Tesla Model 3 rear-ends Ford pick-up, kills passenger

• April 2019. Tesla Model S kills Florida Keys pedestrian

• March 2019. Tesla Model 3 crashes into 18-wheeler truck, kills owner

• April 2018. Tesla Model X kills pedestrian outside Tokyo

• March 2018. Tesla Model X veers off highway into concrete barrier, kills driver

• May 2016. Tesla Model S collides with tractor-trailor, kills driver

• January 2016. Tesla Model S crashes into road-sweeper, kills driver