The German newspaper Handelsblatt is reporting that a whistleblower at Tesla Motors has produced a new leak, being dubbed “The Tesla Files,” which revealed 100 gigabytes of sensitive files including technical faults with the firm’s cars, as well as reams of personal data on staff and clients.
In the report, titled, “My autopilot almost killed me,” which was published Thursday by the outlet, it notes, “huge amounts of internal information have escaped from the company” and that the information indicates that issues affecting the company’s autopilot function “could be even bigger than previously thought.”
Within the leaked files are thousands of complaints which were registered between 2015 and 2022 throughout the US, Europe, and Asia, which imply the company’s Full Self Driving feature may suffer from serious problems. The feature appears to be subject to self-acceleration and braking issues, with accounts noting where cars would “suddenly brake or accelerate abruptly.” Handelsblatt noted that while some customers regained control of their vehicles, others “ended up in a ditch, hit walls or crashed into oncoming vehicles.”
Handelsblatt reported also that Tesla prefers to keep data on their vehicles secret, and will not share written reports detailing incidents with their customers.
Currently Tesla is faced with several lawsuits over its driver-assistance systems, and is the subject of an investigation by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (NHTSA).
Handelsblatt also noted that in addition to the technical data, the leaked data contained an “abundance” of customers’ and employees’ private data.
The files contained over 100,000 names of former and current employees, including the social security number of CEO Elon Musk, as well as private emails of employees, phone numbers, salaries, as well as customers’ bank information, and secret information from production lines.
Handelsblatt’s report accuses the company of not adequately protecting sensitive and personal data. It notes within the files are guidelines which specify that information such as passport, or social security numbers are only to be shared with password protection, and with access to them limited only to certain employees. However the outlet notes the leaked files indicate those guidelines are being ignored.
The data breach has already attracted the attention of the German and Dutch authorities, as it appears to violate the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Currently the data-protection supervisory authority in the Netherlands, where Tesla’s European headquarters is located has been informed of the breach. The newspaper also noted that authorities in the German state of Brandenburg, where the company’s Gigafactory is based, are looking at serious indications of data-protection violations.
One of Tesla’s lawyers said in a statement to the outlet that a “disgruntled former employee” had abused his access as a service technician to steal the information and added the company was going to take the employee to court.
