Tesla releases detailed safety report after Waymo co-CEO called for more data

In a significant move, Tesla has unveiled an extensive analysis of its advanced driver assistance technology, coinciding with remarks from Waymo’s co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana at the TechCrunch Disrupt event, where she urged for greater data transparency from autonomous vehicle companies. On a newly launched section of its website, Tesla reports that vehicles equipped with its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software are achieving approximately 5 million miles between major collisions and around 1.5 million miles between minor incidents in North America. These figures starkly contrast with national averages from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which indicate a major collision occurs every 699,000 miles and a minor one every 229,000 miles, according to Tesla’s analysis. Historically, Tesla has periodically shared “vehicle safety reports,” but these have faced criticism for lacking depth and clarity. Furthermore, the company has been notably quiet about the safety metrics from its Robotaxi trials ongoing in Austin, Texas, where human drivers remain in the vehicles to ensure safety. As the dominant player in the robotaxi sector, Waymo has released extensive data suggesting its autonomous vehicles are five times safer than human drivers and twelve times safer for pedestrians. During the recent Disrupt conference, Mawakana emphasized the necessity for companies to disclose information regarding their fleets’ safety performance. "I think there is a responsibility… to be transparent about what’s happening," she stated, implying that a lack of transparency may undermine efforts to enhance road safety. In response to ongoing concerns, Tesla has clarified its data, stating that users of the Full Self-Driving system travel an estimated 2.9 million miles before a major collision occurs, compared to the NHTSA's figure of 505,000 miles for all drivers. Additionally, FSD users reportedly experience minor collisions every 986,000 miles, while the national average is around 178,000 miles. For the first time, Tesla has also outlined its definitions of collisions, adhering to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Major collisions are classified as those leading to airbag deployment or similar severe impacts. The company notes that any collision occurring while FSD was engaged within five seconds prior is included in its statistics. Tesla plans to update this data quarterly, providing a rolling twelve-month overview of miles driven and collisions. However, it will not disclose other metrics such as injury rates, focusing instead on collision frequency and airbag deployment rates as indicators of safety severity.