• Tesla in Seattle-area crash that killed motorcyclist was using self-driving system, authorities say (AP, July 30, 2024)

  Investigators in Washington state have determined that an April crash in which a Tesla Model S hit and killed a motorcyclist about 15 miles north of Seattle was engaged in Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system at the time of the incident, according to EDR data from the vehicle. The Tesla driver told a state trooper that he was looking at his phone while Autopilot was engaged, and “the next thing he knew there was a bang and the vehicle lurched forward as it accelerated and collided with the motorcycle in front of him.”

  The death of the motorcyclist, Jeffrey Nilsen, is the second fatality in the United States involving Full Self-Driving according to investigation documents from NHTSA. The investigation is ongoing, and it currently is unclear if FSD is at fault in the fatality.

  Tesla has not commented on this recent development in the investigation, but this news comes only a week after Elon Musk stated that he expects FSD to run without human supervision by the end of 2024.

• Volkswagen And Rivian Are Teaming Up On Software In $5 Billion Deal (Inside EVs, July 29, 2024)

  On Tuesday, automakers Rivian and Volkswagen announced they are partnering to create software for their future electric vehicles.  Volkswagen has a long history of producing cars and making a profit, however they have struggled with their software.  Rivian is widely regarded for its software and user experience but lacks funding.  The money VW plans to invest does come with some strings attached.  Rivian will need to meet certain financial and technological milestones.  Volkswagen will invest an initial $1 billion with plans to invest another $4 billion in the future.  

  Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe said during a conference call on Tuesday. “Each company will continue to separately operate their respective vehicle businesses.”

• Automakers Sold Driver Data To Insurance Companies For Next To Nothing (Jalopnik, July 26, 2024)

  Two U.S. Senators, Ron Wyden and Edward J. Markey, are urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate how automakers are collecting and selling driver data to insurance companies at low prices. This follows a report by The New York Times indicating General Motors, Hyundai, and Honda are involved in selling data such as acceleration patterns, braking habits, and speeding frequencies to insurance companies to assess driver risk. Highlights from the investigation revealed automakers made minimal profits from these sales, with Honda receiving 26 cents per car from Verisk, and Hyundai earning 61 cents per car. GM declined to specify exact figures, but sources confirm low millions of dollars for data on eight million cars. The senators criticize the vague and often deceptive ways drivers are informed about data collection, with some automakers still sharing location data without clear consent. This marks the third congressional appeal to the FTC to scrutinize such data practices.

• Rivian’s latest update lets you record and save drive cam footage, including any ‘incidents’ (Electrek, May 2, 2023)

  Rivian’s latest over-the-air software update brings a number of new features to drivers, including 360-degree “Drive Cam” and “Incidents” functions to “enable Rivian drivers to record and save footage of their journeys.” As the name suggests, this footage could include incidents experienced during a journey, such as collisions and hard braking.

  To engage the Drive Cam function, the driver simply taps the “Save Clip” button on the center display, and the car will “create a video clip of the previous two minutes.” Any captured footage can be stored on a USB-C device, and can be viewed in the vehicle or downloaded to another external source.

  When the Incidents function is engaged, no footage is saved unless an incident is experienced; then the car will automatically save the fifteen minutes of footage preceding the incident and the following 1 minute and 45 seconds. As Rivian explains, “Incidents constantly monitors vehicle dynamics to identify incidents, and if one occurs, saves video of the event. For example, if you are cut off in traffic and have to slam on the brakes, this near-impact scenario would trigger the anti-lock braking system and, in turn, activate Incidents.” Incident footage is saved directly to the Rivian internal hard drive without need for a USB-C device.

• Elon, or deepfake? Musk must face questions on Autopilot statements (Reuters, April 26, 2023)

  Elon Musk has faced more than a few lawsuits involving his public statements, but he has not denied making the statements—until now. In a California lawsuit brought by the family of Walter Huang, who was killed when his Tesla crashed while operating in Autopilot, Tesla’s lawyers are claiming that certain recorded statements about the capabilities of Autopilot attributed to Musk may actually be “convincing ‘deepfake’ videos.” But the Court found that argument less than convincing, ordering Musk to sit for a deposition and calling Tesla’s arguments “troubling.” Among the statements reportedly at issue is a 2016 statement in which Musk allegedly claimed that a “Model S and Model X, at this point, can drive autonomously with greater safety than a person.” The Huang case is set for trial in July. The docket can be accessed here (Sz Huang v. Tesla, Inc., Case No. 19CV346663).

• May Mobility launches Arizona’s first on-demand autonomous public transit service for 55+ community (PR Newswire, April 25, 2023)

  May Mobility, a Michigan-based autonomous vehicle developer, is launching its first service in the Western U.S. in partnership with Via, a global “TransitTech” company. The new service will provide on-demand autonomous public transit to the retirement community of Sun City, Arizona, operating from 7 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday to shuttle residents throughout the community and to local recreation and retail centers.

  May Mobility and Via hope that the service will both “expand access to safe, reliable, and equitable on-demand transportation” to the community, and help the companies to better “understand how [AV] technology is adopted and addresses mobility challenges faced by aging adults.” Edwin Olson, CEO of May Mobility, touted the public benefit of the service, saying: “We’re fundamentally changing public transit, making it easier and more desirable than having a personal car. … People are living longer, and we believe that aging populations stand to gain greater access to mobility with autonomous vehicle technology. We’re committed to providing safe, reliable transportation for people who don’t want to or can’t drive themselves.”

Happy holidays!

Copyright Nelson Niehaus LLC

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Firm, its clients, or any of its or their respective affiliates. This blog post is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

Copyright Nelson Niehaus LLC

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Firm, its clients, or any of its or their respective affiliates. This blog post is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.