Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

TESLA

Switzerland’s new Tesla police cars hit data protection roadblock

UPDATED: Tesla on Friday defended its data protection credentials after Swiss media outlets reported that the roll-out of new Tesla police cars in the canton of Basel–Stadt could be delayed because of concerns over data relayed by the vehicles to the US carmaker's servers.

Published: 20 December 2018 19:24 CET
Updated: 21 December 2018 13:46 CET
Switzerland’s new Tesla police cars hit data protection roadblock
The new Tesla emergency response vehicle with some of its predecessors. Photo: Basel-Stadt Police

On December 5th, police in the canton unveiled the first of seven new Tesla X 100D emergency response vehicles, each with a price tag of 140,000 Swiss francs (€124,000).

But now there are fears a planned spring 2019 roll-out will be delayed after concerns were raised about the fact that the internet-connected could “listen in” on their drivers because key commands are voice-activated.

Data from these voice recordings could theoretically be mined from Tesla servers, regional daily BaslerZeitung initially reported. However, the newspaper later clarified that this example had been intended as a fictitious example of a potential issue with the Tesla police cars after the carmaker on Friday stated that its vehicles do not make record voice.

“Thus, no voice recordings are conducted and, logically, no voice recordings are transmitted to the server and evaluated,” said Tesla in comments emailed to Swiss news outlets including The Local on Friday.

But there are still issues with the fact that Tesla can remotely access its cars – as was demonstrated in 2017 when the company remotely upgraded the batteries of vehicle owners escaping from the path of Hurricane Irma in the US state of Florida.

In addition, Tesla can access information on the location of its cars to diagnose and resolve vehicle issues, although the company states this option is limited to a small number of personnel. The company can also, with customer consent, collect anonymized information on the direction and speed its cars are travelling – potentially problematic for a police force.

Telsa’s privacy policy spells out what the electric carmaker can and can’t do. The policy also states that data sharing between the company and its cars can be switched off, although Tesla warns this will prevent it from being able to notify customers about vehicle issues in real time.

This could result in “reduced functionality, serious damage, or inoperability,” the policy states.

However, in emailed comments, Tesla on Friday told The Local: “Customers can deactivate the transfer of data from the vehicle upon request. The vehicle would still be safe to manoeuvre.”

A police spokesperson said on Thursday the force did not want to fully cut data links between its Tesla cars and the Elon Musk firm for safety reasons, the 20 Minuten news site reported.

No delays expected

Later on Thursday, police in Basel-Stadt responded to Swiss media reports about the Teslas by denying the data protection issues would not delay the planned spring roll-out.

It said the issues were part of the “pioneering” aspect of the purchase of the Teslas and that public authorities would have to learn to deal with issues related to the use of devices connected to the internet.

Read also: Switzerland to get Europe's largest electric vehicle charging hub

CARS

From lizards to water, eco-bumps snag Tesla’s giant Berlin car factory

In the green forest outside Berlin, a David and Goliath-style battle is playing out between electric carmaker Tesla and environmental campaigners who want to stop its planned "gigafactory".

Published: 18 April 2021 15:11 CEST
From lizards to water, eco-bumps snag Tesla's giant Berlin car factory
Tesla's gigafactory outside the doors of Berlin. dpa-Zentralbild | Patrick Pleul

“When I saw on TV that the Tesla factory was going to be built here, I couldn’t believe it,” said Steffen Schorch, driving his trusty German-made car.

The 60-year-old from Erkner village in the Berlin commuter belt has become one of the faces of the fight against the US auto giant’s first European factory, due to open in the Brandenburg region near Berlin in July.

“Tesla needs far too much water, and the region does not have this water,” said the environmental activist, a local representative of the Nabu ecologist campaign group.

Announced in November 2019, Tesla’s gigafactory project was warmly welcomed as an endorsement of the “Made in Germany” quality mark – but was immediately met with opposition from local residents.

Demonstrations, legal action, open letters – residents have done everything in their power to delay the project, supported by powerful
environmental campaign groups Nabu and Gruene Liga.

Tesla was forced to temporarily suspend forest clearing last year after campaigners won an injunction over threats to the habitats of resident lizards and snakes during their winter slumber.

READ MORE: Is Germany’s Volkswagen becoming ‘the new Tesla’ as it ramps up e-vehicle production?

And now they have focused their attention on water consumption – which could reach up to 3.6 million cubic metres a year, or around 30 percent of the region’s available supply, according to the ZDF public broadcaster.

The extra demand could place a huge burden on a region already affected by water shortages and hit by summer droughts for the past three years.

Local residents and environmentalists are also concerned about the impact on the wetlands, an important source of biodiversity in the region.

Tesla Street

“The water situation is bad, and will get worse,” Heiko Baschin, a spokesman for the neighbourhood association IG Freienbrink, told AFP.

Brandenburg’s environment minister Axel Vogel sought to play down the issue, saying in March that “capacity has not been exceeded for now”.

But the authorities admit that “the impact of droughts is significant” and have set up a working group to examine the issue in the long term.

The gigafactory is set to sprawl over 300 hectares – equivalent to approximately 560 football fields – southwest of the German capital.

Tesla is aiming to produce 500,000 electric vehicles a year at the plant, which will also be home to “the largest battery factory in the world”,
according to group boss Elon Musk.

In a little over a year and a half, swathes of coniferous forest have already been cleared to make way for vast concrete rectangles on a red earth base, accessed via the already iconic Tesla Strasse (Tesla Street).

German bureaucracy

The new site still has only provisional construction permits, but Tesla has been authorised by local officials to begin work at its own risk.

Final approval depends on an assessment of the project’s environmental impact – including the issue of water.

In theory, if approval is not granted, Tesla will have to dismantle the entire complex at its own expense.

But “pressure is being exerted (on the regulatory authorities), linked to Tesla’s significant investment”, Gruene Liga’s Michael Greschow told AFP.

In early April, Tesla said it was “irritated” by the slow pace of German bureaucracy, calling for exceptions to the rules for projects that help the environment.

Economy Minister Peter Altmaier agreed in April that his government “had not done enough” to reduce bureaucracy, lauding the gigafactory as a “very important project”.

Despite Germany’s reputation for efficiency, major infrastructure projects are often held up by bureaucracy criticised as excessive by the business community.

Among the most embarrassing examples are Berlin’s new airport which opened last October after an eight-year delay and Stuttgart’s new train station, which has been under construction since 2010.

Brandenburg’s economy minister, Joerg Steinbach, raised the possibility in February that the Tesla factory could be delayed beyond its July planned opening for the same reason.

SEE ALSO: Tesla advertises over 300 jobs for new Gigafactory near Berlin

SHOW COMMENTS