'Don’t put it in writing': Tesla employees were told to only communicate verbally about complaints, recalls
'Don’t put it in writing': Tesla employees were told to only communicate verbally about complaints, recalls
Tesla’s implementation of a policy discouraging written documentation of customer complaints related to acceleration, braking, and crashes has been revealed in a massive data leak.
Apparently, and somewhat ironically, Tesla wrote to its staff, asking them to only communicate verbally with others, be it customers or fellow employees, as far as complaints or recalls were concerned,
A Whistleblower blows Tesla over
A German newspaper, Handelsblatt, obtained approximately 100 GB of data from a whistleblower within Tesla. The data dump, consisting of over 23,000 files comprising PDFs, spreadsheets, and emails includes information which encompasses both employee and customer data, as well as numerous complaints involving Tesla vehicles accelerating spontaneously, several crash reports, and multiple allegations of faulty collision warnings leading to emergency braking.
Among the leaked files is an internal Tesla employee policy explicitly instructing staff to communicate with customers and other fellow employees solely through verbal means when addressing complaints. This was mainly because of Tesla did not want to leave any documentary evidence, or paper trail.
The policy explicitly advises against documenting the reports in writing through emails or voicemails.
“Reviews and complaints are for internal use only”
According to Handelsblatt’s report, customers who experienced issues with their Tesla vehicles claim that all communication was conducted orally, with no written correspondence. For instance, a California doctor recounted an incident in 2021 when their vehicle allegedly accelerated on its own and collided with concrete pillars.
The translated portions of the Handelsblatt story published by Jalopnik revealed that Tesla employees were instructed to label reviews and complaints as “for internal use only” and to interact with customers solely through verbal exchanges.
The translation states that each entry contains a bold-print note emphasizing that information if shared at all, should only be conveyed verbally to the customer. It explicitly warns against copying and pasting the report into emails, text messages, or voicemails. Additionally, the policy stipulates that vehicle data should not be disclosed without permission. However, in cases where legal involvement cannot be avoided, such instances must be documented.
Tesla’s data leak to be investigated
Following the data leak, investigators in Germany and the Netherlands, where Tesla’s data was stored, are reportedly considering launching an investigation into the breach. The leaked data includes both employee and customer information, including the potential exposure of Elon Musk’s social security number.
Over the years, federal regulators have been scrutinizing Tesla’s self-driving software and incidents stemming from other technical malfunctions reported throughout the United States and Europe. Consequently, the car manufacturer has initiated recalls, albeit reluctant, and issued software updates for millions of its cars and trucks in response to reported incidents.
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