Elon Musk’s willingness to share information about the Cybertruck explosion has highlighted how much data cars collect — and left some drivers uneasy.
“There’s something deeply ironic that this emblem of personal autonomy, the idea of a car on the open road, might be one of the most heavily surveilled places in many of our lives,” Cahn said.
More than 75 percent of car brands said they can share or sell drivers’ data, according to a 2023 Mozilla Foundation report assessing 25 international brands’ data privacy policies. More than half said they can share information at the request of law enforcement or the government. Only two, Renault and Dacia — neither of which is marketed in the United States — said drivers have the right to have personal data deleted, the report said.
Industry groups say data collection protects drivers and allows automakers to identify potential defects. Sensitive information can’t be used for marketing or shared without consent, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation said in a 2023 memo.
“Yes, your vehicle is generating and transmitting certain safety data. That’s by design,” the memo said. “No, your car isn’t spying on you.”
Many cars have access to location data and camera footage if they’re equipped with features such as parking assistance and navigational systems. But Tesla likely has access to far more data thanks to its suite of cameras used in its driver assistance features, its onboard computers and its nationwide charging network.