Tesla refuses to release information about self-driving car involved in accident
It has been reported that Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer led by Elon Musk, has asked a court to dismiss a request to disclose records of crashes that occurred while the driver assistance system was being used, citing competitive harm.
Musk's Tesla seeks to guard crash data from public disclosure | Reuters
Tesla sales are down in its biggest European markets - Sherwood News
https://sherwood.news/tech/tesla-sales-are-down-in-its-biggest-european-markets/
The Washington Post filed a lawsuit in 2024 asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to release data about accidents involving vehicles using Tesla's advanced driver assistance system.
Tesla responded by asking the court to dismiss the request, arguing that the data is confidential and could be used by competitors to evaluate Tesla's technology, and that disclosure of the data could cause competitive harm.
The disclosure request in question concerns an accident in which a Tesla Model Y, a fully self-driving (FSD)-enabled vehicle, struck and killed a 71-year-old woman who was wearing a reflective safety vest. The accident, the first certified pedestrian fatality related to Tesla's driver assistance technology, has been positioned as highlighting the limitations of Tesla's FSD.
The NHTSA, which conducted the investigation, concluded in its report that 'Tesla's FSD system failed to adequately respond to poor visibility caused by sunlight, fog, etc.' The following article summarizes the agency's investigation into the accident.
Although not directly related to the lawsuit over Tesla car accident data, Tesla has been struggling, especially in the European market, due to intensifying competition with Chinese-made EVs and backlash against Musk's political comments. Below is the change in Tesla car sales in May 2025 compared to May 2024, with a 68% decrease in sales in Portugal and a 67% decrease in France compared to the same month last year. Sales in Norway have increased dramatically, but this is said to be a reaction to the extremely poor sales of Tesla cars in Norway at the time.
Ross Gerber, CEO and co-founder of asset management company Gerber Kawasaki, said of Tesla's FSD, 'I made a little bet with a guy at work who was driving a new Model Y with FSD. He thought he could get through Santa Monica with FSD without any problems, but I said no. And in a three-mile (4.8 km) drive, we lost communication three times. Two of those were fatal, one time the Tesla couldn't detect an emergency vehicle, and the other time the car misread a bus sign and was driving in the right-left lane, so it crossed in front of the bus. The car also didn't notice someone waving to signal it to go ahead. Tesla still has a lot of room for improvement in how FSD works.'
Had a little bet with someone at work who has a new Model Y with FSD. He thought we could get through Santa Monica no problem on FSD. I said no chance. We had 3 disengagements in 3 miles of driving. Two were critical, one involved an emergency vehicle the tesla didn't hear...…
— Ross Gerber (@GerberKawasaki) June 3, 2025
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in Vehicle, Posted by log1l_ks