A former Tesla employee has leaked information about Tesla's limited vehicle safety behind its self-driving feature.
Just last Saturday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk boasted Tesla's excellence on X as having 'the best real-world AI by far'.
However, a former Tesla employee begs to differ.
Lukasz Krupski - an ex-employee of Tesla - is warning the public about the safety of Tesla's self-driving vehicles, deeming them not safe for driving on public roads.
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Krupski leaked confidential information to the German newspaper Handelsblatt in May earlier this year, expressing reservations about the technology behind Tesla's self-driving capabilities.
The leaks weren't just a unsolicited hit at Tesla either. The data included company data backed up by customer complaints regarding Tesla's braking and self-driving software.
Some Tesla drivers reported instances of 'phantom braking,' whereby the cars brake in response to non-existent obstacles. Other company data showed that requirements relating to the 'safe operation of vehicles with assistive driving technology' had not been adequately met.
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The German newspaper that Krupski reported to backed up the claims.
After reviewing around 23, 000 files between 2015 and 2022, 2,400 were customer complaints of Teslas 'suddenly accelerating'. Whilst, 1,500 complained of a 'defective collision warning signal' causing problems with the emergency braking system. Furthermore, they discovered a total of 1,000 logged crash reports.
The ex-Tesla employee said that he tried to voice his concerns internally - when he worked for Tesla - but claimed that it fell on deaf ears. As an act of public safety, Krupski felt it important to share the warning to all.
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In an interview with the BBC, Krupski voiced his concerns about the feature Tesla vehicles are known for - the Autopilot feature.
He expressed unease about how AI was being used to 'power Tesla's autopilot service.'
The autopilot feature is not as automatic and independent as you might think - despite the name. Self-driving instead activates assisted steering and parking, using cameras to 'see' surrounding traffic. The catch is, a driver still needs to be in the driver's seat with both hands on the wheel.
Krupski said he doesn't think the 'hardware or software is ready'. He warns that the lack of safety won't just affect the drivers and passengers of the Tesla vehicle, but pedestrians as well.
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He expressed that 'it affects all of us because we are essentially experiments in public roads. So even if you don't have a Tesla, your children still walk in the footpath.'
Unsurprisingly, Tesla and its lawyer didn't take kindly to the leaked information, with one lawyer dismissing Krupski as a 'disgruntled former employee' that 'abused his position to release the material.'