Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, Inc. TSLA faces a class-action lawsuit after allegations emerged that its employees shared private photos and videos captured by cameras for Tesla's driving assistance programs. The case was filed by Henry Yeh, who has owned a Tesla for over a year, on behalf of anyone who has owned or leased a Tesla since 2019.
Traditional financial news outlets and financial YouTube channels have been actively circulating the news of the class-action lawsuit against Tesla for allegedly violating customers' privacy. The revelation has sparked a heated discussion about the importance of privacy protection by tech companies and how this could affect Tesla's reputation and relationship with its customers. In particular, True Trading Group, a leading trading community dedicated to empowering traders with the tools and knowledge needed to succeed in the stock market, will discuss this news on Sunday, April 9th, 2023, at 8:30 PM ET on its Private Stock Market Live Stream. The discussion is expected to provide a deep dive into the implications of this news and its potential impact on Tesla's future performance.
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According to a report by Reuters, Tesla employees accessed and sometimes shared footage of customers captured by the onboard cameras, which violated privacy laws. The footage contained data regarding the location where it was caught, enabling employees to determine the address and likely the identity of an individual Tesla owner. The lawsuit alleges that Tesla violated California's state constitution, privacy laws and privacy policies, and misled customers about using their data. Tesla's website states that the cameras are "designed from the ground up to protect your privacy."
The Reuters report also revealed that, between 2019 and 2022, groups of Tesla employees privately shared videos and images recorded by customers' car cameras via an internal messaging system. Some recordings were highly invasive, catching Tesla customers in embarrassing situations. The report cited an ex-employee who described a video of a man approaching a vehicle completely naked. Other recordings shared by Tesla employees included crashes and road-rage incidents. One crash video in 2021 showed a Tesla driving at high speed in a residential area, hitting a child riding a bike. The video spread around a Tesla office in San Mateo, California, via private one-on-one chats.
Tesla's "Customer Privacy Notice" states that its "camera recordings remain anonymous and are not linked to you or your vehicle." However, seven former employees told Reuters that the computer program they used at work could show the location of recordings, potentially revealing where a Tesla owner lived. One ex-employee also said that some recordings appeared to have been made when cars were parked and turned off. Several years ago, Tesla would receive video recordings from its vehicles even when they were off if owners gave consent, and it has since stopped doing so.
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