Tesla is citing competitive harm as it is attempting to keep certain crash data private from the public in relation to a lawsuit against it and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) from the Washington Post.
In a federal court filing seen by Reuters, Tesla said it wanted some of the crash information the Post was attempting to obtain to be kept confidential because it could be used by rivals to assess the company’s self-driving tech.
Tesla touts its self-driving suite as one of the most robust on the market, and those who have used it believe it to be one of the best around. However, accidents do happen, and while Tesla still has not reached full autonomy and tells drivers to continue paying attention to be prepared to take over, the company still seems to take a lot of the blame for them.
There are also some things that could be revealed about Tesla’s self-driving strategy if it were to release the data, the company says. The efficacy of each version of its FSD suite could allow competitors to calculate how many crashes occurred on each release.
Attorneys for the Washington Post said that Tesla’s versions of both software and hardware are not kept private from owners themselves, so the information should be made public.
The NHTSA has been investigating accidents involving Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite since it opened an investigation last October.
The company is used to dealing with attempts to hinder the progress or capabilities of the FSD suite. When used correctly, it can be a widely beneficial suite that helps make driving less stressful, but Tesla has always been more than vocal that it cannot be used as a replacement for human drivers, at least not yet.
Currently, Tesla Full Self-Driving still requires owners to pay attention and be aware of road conditions, as they may have to take over unexpectedly.
Tesla is hoping to launch its Robotaxi platform in Austin next week on Thursday, as it has reportedly landed on June 12 as its launch date.
However, media skepticism regarding the suite’s capabilities has conveniently started to ramp up as the Robotaxi platform launch nears.
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