Report: Tesla Invokes Federal Law to Prevent Disclosure of Robotaxi Testing Data
Tesla began a small-scale rollout of its Robotaxi program in Austin, Texas, over the weekend, marking a significant step forward for the automaker’s autonomous vehicle ambitions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is collecting data on the program, but Tesla recently told the government agency not to publicly disclose any of the information it gathers.
Last week, the NHTSA announced that it was reviewing answers Tesla gave in response to its questions about Robotaxi safety and performance in poor weather conditions. The automaker responded by leaning on a federal law that prevents the NHTSA from releasing what it considers confidential information.
Tesla attorneys said that the protection would prevent the company’s commercially valuable information from leaking to competitors, which could mean that the automaker disclosed sensitive information on camera systems and other technologies that it doesn’t want others to know about.
Tesla’s letter to the NHTSA read, “Nefarious actors could also use the marked information to smear Tesla’s brand for the sake of notoriety. Absent public disclosure, access to the marked information and all of the knowledge gained from it would require significant expenditure of time and resources and very intimate knowledge about Tesla.”
The Robotaxi program debuted in Austin with $4.20 rides to early adopters. While it’s understandable that Tesla would want to protect its intellectual property, this move could also be intended to smooth over public perception of the trial, which currently relies on human operators behind the scenes.
[Images: Tesla]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
More by Chris Teague
Comments
Join the conversation
Very against this. But, after what they hid from us with the fake covid vaccines, I guess this is par for the course.
Seems to mee that the company wants or needs to hide information as this "Robotaxi" thing is smoke and mirrors. The companies CEO does a great job on his own smearing Tesla's brand the information should be available to others and if anyone is using the information in a way that could be perceived as negative again the companies CEO will step in and bully them.