Nudity, crashes and intimate moments: Tesla employees accessed and shared videos recorded from vehicles, according to report.

Tesla seems to be entering a crisis regarding privacy and its cameras. The report, based on interviews with nine former employees of the tech company, says that from 2019 to mid-2022, some employees used an internal messaging system to exchange “sometimes very aggressive” videos and images. recorded by the cameras of customers’ cars.

Employees had easy access to the camera output and freely shared it with other employees, according to a Reuters report. Some of the footage showed Tesla customers in awkward situations, such as a completely naked man approaching the car. Although Tesla claims that its in-car cameras “designed from the ground up to protect your privacy”, traffic accidents and episodes of traffic accidents were also separated.

Video of the 2021 crash shows a Tesla driving through a residential area and hitting a child riding a bike, according to another former employee. The boy went one way, the bike the other. The video was streamed at the Tesla office in San Mateo, California via private chats.

In addition, they shared “photos of dogs and funny road signs that Tesla employees turned into internal memes, embellished with funny captions or comments before posting them in private group chats.” Some of the posts could be seen on “dozens“employees of the company.

Former employee reported seeing “scandalous things” including “scenes of intimacy, but not nudity”, clothing items, sexual health items and “Private moments of life that we actually had access to because the car was charging.”

Meanwhile, one former employee saw nothing wrong with image sharing, but described a feature that allowed data taggers to see the location of records on Google Maps as “massive invasion of privacy”.

Tesla and camera access

Tesla’s customer privacy notice states that “Camera footage remains anonymous and is not linked to you or your vehicle.” However, according to the article, seven former employees “They told Reuters that a computer program they used at work could display the location of the records, potentially showing where the Tesla owner lives.” Another mentioned in the outlet that “We could look into people’s garages and their private property.”

The FTC could take action against companies that don’t live up to their privacy promises, experts said. At the moment, Tesla has not come out to clarify the matter.