Tesla Said Cars Could Record Photos and Videos from Users Without Them Knowing

Urian B., Tech Times 06 April 2023, 08:04 pm

As Tesla continues to advance the car industry with creative AI technology, the reliance on camera systems to monitor the interior and exterior of its vehicles has some worrying implications surrounding privacy.

Ex-Employees Reveal How Intimate Images and Videos Were Unlawfully Captured and Shared

An article by Motor Trend shared that recent claims from former Tesla employees reveal how they could access and share intimate images and videos captured without the users' knowledge or permission, exposing a breach of their privacy.

One ex-employee recounted an instance of a man walking towards his vehicle, completely unaware that the Tesla cars cameras were recording him the entire time, and then spreading the video around the company for laughs.

Similarly, another video captures a tragic accident where a Tesla hit a child on a bicycle.

Data Collection Practices of Tesla Despite Owners' Car Being Off

Some recordings appeared to have been made when cars were turned off, although Tesla has since stopped collecting video recordings from its vehicles when they are off. Employees have also reportedly seen videos and pictures of the internal garage of Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesa.

While it is stated in Tesla's Customer Privacy Notice that recorded images remain anonymous and are not linked to you or your vehicle, as well as that recordings are stopped when the car is turned off, the system still records vehicle location data - putting owners at risk.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk's Lotus Esprit Sub From 'The Spy Who Loved Me'

Furthermore, one of the employees recalled a video of a car owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk - his Lotus Esprit sub from the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. Neither the company nor Musk replied to Reuters, where the original scoop came from, on the claims or whether he was aware of the video being shared on the instant messaging system.

At a 2013 Phoenix auction, Elon Musk was the winning bidder, paying nearly one million dollars for the car. It had been sitting in a London storage garage for over three decades and needed refurbishing.

Potential Consequences of Careless Employees Ignoring Privacy Concerns

These claims should be taken seriously as a breach of privacy with potentially serious consequences. Thanks to careless employees disregarding the sensitivity of the intimate videos and pictures, Tesla customers should be wary about their data being used.

The breach has even caused some ex-employees to joke that they would never own a Tesla again. The news agency attempted to issue detailed questions to the company but was unsuccessful.

Unauthorized Sharing of Photos and Videos at Tesla

Reuters also contacted over 300 former Tesla employees who had worked with the company in the past nine years, interviewing more than a dozen in the process and learning of the inappropriate behavior they had witnessed while employed at the company.

Unfortunately, Reuters could not access the images and videos due to the employees not having saved them. It also remains unclear whether the sharing of recordings is still occurring or how widespread it is, as noted in an article by NBC News.