Tesla fights to keep crash info secret, cites competition, not just embarrassment

Electric car giant Tesla is in a heated legal showdown, trying to prevent the public from seeing detailed data about crashes involving its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems. While some might assume the company is simply trying to avoid bad press, Tesla's stated reason is a bit more strategic: it fears competitors in the growing EV market could use the information to catch up.

The US National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) makes automakers report all accidents where Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) – like Tesla's Autopilot or FSD – were active. These systems in electric cars and other modern vehicles can help with tasks like steering, braking, and maintaining speed, but they don't make the car fully autonomous. The driver is still in charge.

It turns out that a large portion of these ADAS-related crash reports come from Tesla vehicles. Unfortunately, the juicy details within these reports often remain hidden, as Tesla has been accused of heavily redacting the information, citing confidential business interests.

This secrecy was the reason for The Washington Post to sue both Tesla and the NHTSA, demanding public release of the unredacted data. In the latest court filing, Tesla claims that it "would suffer financial and economic harm if the requested information is disclosed." Here's the twist: the primary financial harm Tesla is worried about isn't about potential lawsuits or a drop in stock price due to safety concerns. Tesla is worried that its rivals in the electric car space could gain an unfair advantage.

According to Eddie Gates, Tesla's Director for Field Reliability Engineering, releasing specifics like ADAS hardware and software versions involved in incidents would be like handing over a playbook to other companies. He claims competitors could analyze this data to figure out how effective different versions of Tesla's systems are, track how quickly Tesla is improving its technology, and even get clues about Tesla's internal methods for collecting data and making its systems better.

Gates suggested that rivals could "draw conclusions about or attempt to copy Tesla's internal processes" and "ascertain the strength and weaknesses of Tesla's features and use that knowledge to build or improve their own features and systems." In essence, Tesla believes its crash data is a competitive asset.

Lawyers representing The Washington Post have a straightforward counter. They argue that information like the software and hardware versions of Tesla's ADAS isn't exactly a state secret, considering drivers can see this information in their own vehicles. If the data becomes public, they contend, the main outcome would be that everyone – not just competitors – gets a clearer picture of how, when, and why these advanced systems are involved in crashes.

This would inevitably lead to more news reports on Tesla incidents, and it might empower individuals involved in such crashes with more information on potential legal actions. And yes, competitors might also learn a thing or two.

But this brings up a rather interesting point: if competitors use this data to improve their own ADAS technology, wouldn't that lead to safer electric cars and driver-assist systems across the board? Isn't that precisely the goal of collecting and analyzing crash data in the first place? The idea that shared learning, even from unfortunate incidents, could be detrimental because it helps other companies improve safety seems like a questionable stance for a company that claims to be at the forefront of automotive technology.

The push for transparency in how these complex systems perform, especially when they are involved in accidents, is growing. Many believe that the more we understand the limitations and real-world performance of ADAS in electric vehicles and beyond, the safer our roads will become for everyone. Tesla's efforts to keep these details under wraps will only raise more questions and will very likely eventually backfire. At this point, it seems that whatever Tesla is trying to do, its image will only go from bad to worse.

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