What We’re Reading
Musk wanted to use Tesla cameras to spy on drivers and win autopilot lawsuits (Electrek, September 15, 2023)
The new Elon Musk biography by Walter Isaacson includes “several revelations about Tesla’s past, present, and future,” including allegations that Musk “pushed internally to use [driver monitoring cameras] to record clips of Tesla drivers ... with the goal of using this footage to defend the company in the event of investigations into the behavior of its Autopilot system.” Tesla has been incorporating internal cameras in its vehicles since 2017, although they were only activated as of 2021, ostensibly as a tool to monitor driver attentiveness.
According to the book, Musk’s idea was quickly shot down, with an unidentified colleague saying “we cannot associate the selfie streams to a specific vehicle, even when there’s a crash, or at least that’s the guidance from our lawyers.” Musk reportedly suggested a warning to inform users that the vehicle would be collecting data in the event of a crash, which was approved. In fact, Tesla discloses through an in-car pop up that “cabin camera data will be shared with Tesla if the vehicle experiences a safety critical event like a collision” [see article inset].
These revelations are particularly interesting as Tesla faces investigations and litigation following reports that employees were sharing footage from vehicle cameras—in some cases, compromising footage—without users’ permission.
Lawmakers show skepticism for autonomous trucks (Land Line, September 14, 2023)
Last week, the House Highway and Transit Subcommittee held a hearing titled “The Future of Automated Commercial Motor Vehicles.” Despite receiving some criticism for failing to elicit testimony from an actual truck driver, several lawmakers pleased traditional trucking proponents by commenting on the challenges faced by the trucking industry as autonomous technology threatens to replace human operators.
Although three of the four witnesses were advocates of autonomous technology, lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle posited poignant questions about whether full deployment of 80,000-pound trucks on public roadways without human drivers would ever be safe.
“I think we absolutely need prudence when discussing autonomous vehicles of any level,” said witness Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. “The biggest example we have so far is San Francisco, and it’s not going so well to say the least. It’s a problem. We can’t just stick our head in the sand and pretend these problems don’t exist.”
With respect to job displacement, OOIDA representatives said the “mythical claims” of a driver shortage is a specious basis for allowing the still unproven technology on open roadways. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., expressed similar skepticism of the claim that driverless technology will not eventually encroach upon human jobs.
TEAMSTERS RELEASE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE POLICY FRAMEWORK (PR Newswire, September 12, 2023)
While the UAW strikes and legislators consider the value of autonomous trucks (see above), the country’s largest labor union, and “the only union substantially representing commercial truck drivers,” is weighing in on autonomous vehicles. Last week, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters released a policy statement titled “Autonomous Vehicle Federal Policy Principles,” urging federal lawmakers to take five key principles into account in considering AV legislation: regulating the vehicle, regulating the operator, regulating operations, interaction with other laws, and workforce impacts. According to the Teamster’s General President, Sean M. O’Brien, “[h]undreds of thousands of Teamsters turn a key for a living, so we are fiercely committed to working with Congress and federal regulators to get AV policy right. ... Strong federal AV policies must prioritize both workers and safety. Any legislation that puts workers and the general public at risk will be met with aggressive opposition by the Teamsters and our allies.” Read the Teamsters’ complete statement here.