Tesla’s Robotaxi has entered its public testing phase — a big step toward autonomous mobility. And let’s be honest: it’s pretty exciting! But as a passenger, you'll be sitting in a self-driving car that likely knows a lot about you: your location, voice, face, travel patterns - even the conversations you have. All of that might be captured and stored.

Back in 2020, Tesla responded to the European privacy guidelines for connected vehicles (EDPB Guidelines 1/2020), stating that requesting consent for data processing in cars is often "not practical." Instead, they prefer alternative legal bases under the GDPR, such as contract performance (Art. 6(1)(b)) or legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)). That approach clashes with the ePrivacy Directive, which - as a lex specialis to the GDPR - often requires prior consent for accessing or storing information on end-user devices (such as vehicles), under Art. 5(3). Together, the GDPR and ePrivacy Directive stress the importance of freely given, informed consent, especially when processing sensitive data like location, biometrics, audio, or video recordings.

Tesla’s privacy track record hasn’t exactly been spotless either:
📷 Employees internally shared private dashcam footage
🛰️ Uncertainty around cross-border data transfers
🔒 Lack of transparency on who has access to what data

While Tesla acknowledges the importance of privacy, ease of use and rapid innovation often seem to take priority.

👉 The big question: how will Tesla ensure your privacy as a Robotaxi user in full compliance with the GDPR and ePrivacy Directive?
Time will tell. I, for one, am curious to see the Privacy Policy and T&Cs of the Robotaxi app once the EU pilot rolls out.

Tesla’s 2020 response to the EDPB Guidelines:
https://lnkd.in/e-YnE5Hu

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