Tesla responds to Waymo CEO's call, shares self-driving safety data
What's the story
Tesla has released a comprehensive safety report for its advanced driver-assistance software, Full Self-Driving (Supervised). The move comes after Waymo's co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana urged tech companies to share more data at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference. The new section on Tesla's website shows that in North America, drivers using this software experience major collisions every 5 million miles and minor ones every 1.5 million miles.
Data comparison
Safety report surpasses national average
The collision rates reported by Tesla are significantly lower than the national average provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). According to NHTSA data, a major collision occurs every 11,24,929km and a minor one every 3,68,539km. However, Tesla's interpretation of these statistics shows that its Full Self-Driving software users experience major collisions much less frequently than the national average.
Report critique
Tesla's safety reports have faced criticism
Tesla has been publishing "vehicle safety reports" quarterly, but they have often been criticized for lack of detail. The company has also remained tight-lipped about the safety performance of its Robotaxi trial in Austin, Texas. This trial still has employees behind the wheel for safety reasons. Waymo, the leading US robotaxi company, has published detailed data showing its vehicles are five times safer than human drivers and 12 times safer with respect to pedestrians.
Industry call
Waymo's co-CEO calls for transparency
At last month's Disrupt conference, Mawakana was asked about companies making roads safer. She said she didn't know who was on that list because they weren't sharing data about their fleets. "I think there is a responsibility, if you're going to put vehicles on the road... it is incumbent upon you to be transparent about what's happening," she added.
Detailed breakdown
Tesla's new data breaks down collision rates
Tesla's new website section breaks down collision rates for its Full Self-Driving software. It says drivers using this system experience major collisions every 2.9 million miles, compared to the NHTSA-reported average of about 8,12,717km per major collision. For minor collisions, Tesla claims FSD users experience them every 15,86,809km while all drivers experience them every 2,86,463km.
Collision definition
Major collisions based on federal standards
Tesla defines major collisions as crashes with higher-severity impacts where a vehicle's airbags or other non-reversible pyrotechnic restraints are deployed. The company says if FSD was active "at any point within five seconds leading up to collision event," then it includes that crash in this dataset. This calculation ensures reported collision rates for FSD (Supervised) capture not only those occurring while the system is actively controlling the vehicle but also scenarios where drivers disengage or systems abort shortly before impact.