Secret Tesla Files Reveal Horrible Truth About Autopilot System

German edition Handelsblatt got access to more than 23 thousand internal files of the company Tesla, which contain customer complaints about autopilot system failures. According to the publication, Tesla ignored security concerns and tried to avoid legal liability.

The Tesla files were given to Handelsblatt by an unknown source. Their authenticity was confirmed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Information Protection, which found no signs of falsification or distortion of data. Tesla tried to prevent the publication of this information and even threatened Handelsblatt with a lawsuit. However, the publication has decided that this is one of those rare cases where reporting such a data breach would be legal under European Union law.

An article titled “My Autopilot Nearly Killed Me: Tesla Files Cast Questions on Elon Musk’s Promises,” published on May 25, states the following:

The Tesla files contain more than 2,400 complaints of spontaneous acceleration and more than 1,500 problems with braking function, including 139 cases of unintentional emergency braking and 383 reports of false stops due to erroneous collision warnings. The number of accidents exceeds 1000. In the table of incidents involving driver assistance systems, where customers expressed safety concerns, there are more than 3000 entries.

The oldest complaints available to Handelsblatt date from 2015, the most recent from March 2022. During this period, Tesla shipped about 2.6 million vehicles with autopilot software. Most of the incidents took place in the US, but the documents also include complaints from Europe and Asia.

Handelsblatt has contacted dozens of clients from several countries. Everyone confirmed the information from the Tesla files. During the conversations, they talked about their experiences with the autopilot. Some revealed their communication with the American automaker, others even showed the Handelsblatt reporters videos of the accidents.

Customers in the US and Europe told Handelsblatt that Tesla didn’t show much interest in their problems, but rather aimed at covering up the company. It turns out that this is an approved policy at Tesla. Employees of the company have precise guidelines for communicating with customers. The main priority is to provide as little reason for attacks and possible reputational risks as possible.

Affected Tesla customers that Handelsblatt spoke to were under the impression that company employees were avoiding written communication. “They never sent emails, everything was always verbal,” says a California man whose Tesla car self-accelerated in the fall of 2021 and crashed into two concrete pillars.

Some customers told Handelsblatt that they either sold their Teslas or tried to return them to the company. All as one say that they cannot in good conscience recommend someone to drive such machines. The autopilot, although a fairly innovative thing, is clearly still raw, even after so many years of development and testing.

Elon Musk and Tesla had a “hellish” 2022, but this year does not promise to be better. The many lawsuits from shareholders to surviving family members of victims of fatal accidents, which also took place, clearly will not have a positive effect on the company’s affairs.