Tesla’s Autopilot and fully self-driving features are the subject of thousands of complaints from Tesla owners.
100 GB of documents containing customer complaints against Tesla have fallen into the hands of the German publication Handelsblatt. The media explains that it obtained them from several sources and that the data would come from the computer system of the car manufacturer.
Accidents passed over in silence
The complaints span from 2015 to March 2022 and originate in the United States, Europe and Asia, Tesla’s main markets. Handelsblatt lists more than 2,400 complaints relating to an unexpected acceleration problem, 1,500 complaints relating to a problem with braking (including 139 relating to the involuntary triggering of emergency braking) and 383 complaints for “ghost stops” following a potential collision warning error.
The most worrisome issues encountered by drivers are sudden and far from necessary acceleration or braking, forcing users to manually regain control of the vehicle. But some cases have resulted in accidents: car in the ditch, collision with a wall or with an oncoming vehicle…
The self-driving capabilities of Teslas are regularly in the sights of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the US road traffic regulatory body. A few months ago, for example, she felt that Tesla’s Autopilot took too many risks at intersections.
Do not leave evidence outside the internal system
Of course, Tesla is trying to cover it up. While the German media contacted the company for information, it only replied that it was a theft of confidential data and that it should be deleted immediately.
Some documents from the leak also describe Tesla’s policies with regard to the problems encountered by customers with its vehicles: discretion is in order. In the event of a technical review, employees are advised that the report is “for internal use only” And that the information must only be transmitted verbally to the customer so as not to leave traces. “Do not copy and paste the report below into an email, text or leave it in a voicemail to the customer”Tesla insists in an internal guidance document.
Tesla is therefore doing everything to hide the problems of its self-driving features under the rug, while Elon Musk announced a few weeks ago that the next Tesla model will work “almost entirely in autonomous mode”.
Source : Handelsblatt
16