According to Tristan Rice, a Facebook software engineer (@rice_fry),he recently obtained and shared a sample of the telemetry data gathered by Tesla Insurance, providing valuable insights on the service’s inner workings.
* # of Autopilot Strikeouts
* # of Forward Collision Warnings
* # of Lane Departure Warnings
* # of ABS activations (All & User)
* Time spent within 1s of car in front
* Time spent within 3s of car in front
* Acceleration Variance
* Service Mode
* Delivered(2/2)
— Tristan (@rice_fry) April 10, 2021
According to the tweets, Tesla Insurance records data on a per drive basis, and the following parameters are recorded for every drive:
The list starts off pretty tame with basic information that many insurance companies track using companion apps or dongles, but Tesla Insurance also delves deeper into characteristics and statistics that can define driver behavior and identify bad/reckless driving behavior.
The number of forward collision warnings (the sensitivity of which can notably be adjusted by the user), number of braking system activations, and time spent in close proximity to cars in front, for example, can be used to sniff out tail gating.
The number of Autopilot strikeouts and lane departure warnings can point towards a lack of attention while on the road. The record logs two different kinds of ABS activations, the first are user-initiated activations and the second are (presumably) ABS activations from ice or snow.
The data does not include your Tesla VIN, although that’s to be expected since Tesla binds Insurance to cars and not customer accounts. The driver profile name being logged will allow Tesla to differentiate between the behavior of drivers using the same Tesla.
Tesla has also left room to expand upon the list and add more parameters to the record.
While Tesla Insurance is currently only available in the state of California, the electric vehicle maker is currently seeking permission to branch out into Illinois, Texas, and Washington, with plans for a U.S.-wide rollout currently in the works.
You may recall Rice had previously shared color video of Tesla’s cabin camera and what it can see and detect based on a driver’s behaviour in a Model 3 or Model Y.
