Massive Tesla data breach blamed on ‘insider wrongdoing’

A gargantuan data breach involving tens of thousands of Tesla workers and nearly 100 gigabytes of internal intelligence has been pinned on two ex-Tesla employees.

The two unidentified ex-Tesla workers, according to a letter to affected employees from Tesla data privacy officer Steven Elentukh, reportedly sent “confidential information” about the company to the German news outlet Handelsblatt. Handelsblatt’s story was published on May 25, about two weeks after the news outlet notified the company of the leak, and included internal details about Tesla’s checkered full self-driving beta and concerns over Tesla’s management of sensitive data. The story was called “The Tesla Files” — suggesting a massive airing of company intel akin to the Wall Street Journal’s “Facebook Files” in 2021.

Tesla has filed lawsuits against both individuals, according to the notice, and their “electronic devices that were believed to have contained the Tesla information” were seized.

The company boasts on its website that its “privacy protections aim to go beyond industry standards, ensuring your personal data is never sold, tracked or shared without your permission or knowledge.” In April, a Reuters exposé revealed that Tesla employees shared intimate photos and videos recorded in customers’ cars with each other — including one of a Tesla owner walking to his car fully naked. 

Also included in the files was a spreadsheet of names of employees past and present, along with customer banking information and employee salaries. (Affected Tesla workers will receive a yearlong subscription to Experian’s premium credit monitoring service.) 

Elon Musk’s Social Security number was also apparently part of the leak.