Tesla Wants To Keep Its Texas Self-Driving Data Private Amid Austin Robotaxi Launch: Report

Tesla Inc. TSLA seeks to keep its responses to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA's questions regarding the company's FSD technology private, the regulator said.

What Happened: Tesla has invoked a federal law that "restricts NHTSA's ability to publicly release what the companies label as confidential,” Reuters reported on Monday. The agency reiterated that its investigation into the EV giant remains open.

Tesla maintains that the responses submitted to the regulator contain information that its competitors can use to improve self-driving technology and advanced driver assistance systems.

"Nefarious actors could also use the marked information to smear Tesla’s brand for the sake of notoriety," a legal representative for Tesla cited in the report said.

Why It Matters: The news comes in as the NHTSA had been reviewing Tesla's responses to the agency's questions regarding the FSD's performance in poor weather conditions.

FSD, or Full Self-Driving, is a crucial aspect of Tesla's plans as it turns towards autonomous vehicles and Robotaxis. Elon Musk's EV giant officially rolled out its Robotaxi in Austin with an invite-only event for social media influencers.

However, questions are being raised about the technology after a Tesla Model 3 was involved in an incident earlier this month, where the occupant of the car was in a potentially life-threatening position as the vehicle was reportedly struck by a train after it got stuck on a railroad track while on full self-driving.

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