Opt out: how to protect your data and privacy if you own a Tesla

The Guardian

17-04-2025

Welcome to Opt Out, a semi-regular column in which we help you navigate your online privacy and show you how to say no to surveillance. The last column covered how to protect your phone and data privacy at the US border. If you'd like to skip to a section about a particular tip, click the 'Jump to' menu at the top of this article.
At the press of a button, your Tesla pulls itself out of parking spot with no one behind the wheel using a feature called Summon. It drives itself on highways using Autopilot. When you arrive at your destination, it can record nearby activity while parked with a feature called Sentry Mode.
To effectively operate any of these features, your car needs to monitor and collect a large amount of data about you. Most Tesla vehicles come equipped with nine internal and external cameras. Information from your Tesla, delivered via location trackers, sensors and more, can paint an intricate picture of your life and movement.
'Teslas are truly rolling surveillance platforms,' said John Davisson, a senior counsel and director of litigation at digital rights research group Electronic Privacy Information Center. 'There are some privacy safeguards that Tesla offers that at least allow you, on the face of the settings, to opt out of data sharing ... provided that Tesla is actually following through on those commitments.'
Tesla isn't alone in collecting a considerable amount of data to enable a suite of advanced features on your vehicle. Any connected car collects some level of information to operate. Some Tesla owners are newly concerned, given CEO Elon Musk's role in Donald Trump's administration.
Those concerns are not entirely unfounded, according to Reem Suleiman, the director of advocacy at Mozilla Foundation, which gave Tesla a 'privacy not included' grade in its assessment of the carmaker's data security practices. For one, the company's track record of protecting user data is shaky. In 2023, a Reuters investigation found that employees were sharing sensitive footage that vehicles captured in internal messaging forums. A Washington Post analysis of transparency reports published by Twitter and then X after Musk took over likewise showed that X acquiesced to 20% more government requests to remove content in just the first half of 2024 than Twitter did in all of 2021 – the last time the company published the transparency report.
We spoke to privacy experts, consulted Tesla's privacy policy and even asked Tesla's own AI chatbot how to share the least amount of data with Tesla as possible. If you own a Tesla, there are some precautions you can and, in many cases, should take with regards to your vehicle. But be forewarned: adjusting these settings so that you share the least possible amount of data with Tesla will shut off access to many of your car's functions.
'They pretty much say that, if you choose to opt out of data collection, then your car is essentially a lemon,' Suleiman said. 'They essentially say that your vehicle can have reduced functionality, serious damage or inoperability. So it's kind of a non-choice, when you think about it.'
Here's what you need to know about your privacy in Tesla vehicles:
Tesla's privacy policy details a wide swath of data that its vehicles collect – most of which is stored locally but is also sent to the company unless you change your settings.
According to Tesla's AI chatbot, information collected on you includes: 'location data (although Tesla doesn't record or store vehicle-specific GPS information, except in the case of a crash); driving habits and behaviors (such as speed, braking patterns, and acceleration); diagnostic and vehicle usage data (to help improve Tesla's products and services); infotainment system data (like browsing history and voice commands) and Autopilot data (camera recordings, sensor readings, and other inputs to support advanced safety features)'.
The good news is that data can be collected and stored on your vehicle's local drives if opt out of sharing information with the company. The bad news is that data can still be accessed if law enforcement somehow gets a hold of your vehicle during a traffic stop or other circumstance, according to the Electronic Privacy Information Center's Davisson.
And it's not just your car that's collecting information. The Tesla mobile app, from which you can activate Sentry Mode or Summon, also collects location, contact, browsing and device information. Read on for how to dial back how much your car monitors you.
If you opt to share your data with Tesla, all of the data it collects on you may be shared with third parties, including law enforcement. According to the company's privacy policy, in addition to sharing data with law enforcement when the company receives a valid court order, Tesla will also share data when it is 'essential to protect national security or public safety'. Davisson says that language is vague and opens the door for video footage to be shared with law enforcement for any number of reasons. Recently, for instance, the FBI has categorized vandalism of Tesla vehicles and showrooms as 'domestic terrorism'.
'Especially now, when everything is apparently a national emergency, it's a very short hop from that to considering immigration enforcement to be a safety issue that requires constant sharing of real-time footage to Ice or other law enforcement officials,' said Davisson. 'And it's a scary situation.'
So how do you protect your data?
Everyone has a different risk profile when it comes to their privacy. Some people may be more concerned than others about who is gaining access to their personal information. It's not just your own privacy you need to be cognizant of, however, as Tesla's exterior cameras can collect footage of people around the vehicle as well.
If you are concerned about information gathering and don't already have a Tesla, privacy experts say you should opt for a different car. If you do have one and want to reclaim your privacy, sell it. Even Tesla's AI chatbot gave similar advice.
'If someone is deeply concerned about their privacy, they might consider alternatives, such as: 1 Opting for a vehicle manufacturer with more restrictive data collection practices (though this might come at the cost of reduced convenience features); 2 Exploring aftermarket solutions or modifications that could potentially reduce data sharing (though this might void warranties or introduce compatibility issues).'
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So you've already bought a Tesla, and you've decided to sell it. Suleiman and the Mozilla Foundation highly recommend factory-resetting the car before you do. That means your car will be wiped of all of its data as if it was just coming off the lot.
'Just because you sell your car off doesn't mean that you've scrubbed the data,' Suleiman said. 'It requires a little bit of due diligence.'
So before you take the vehicle off your Tesla account, you will need to factory-reset your car from your in-car settings. Sit in the driver's seat and follow these steps:
1 Go to Controls > Service > Factory Reset.
2 Enter your Tesla account username and password to verify your credentials.
3 Confirm that you want to perform a factory reset.
'This will erase all personal data, including saved addresses, music favorites and imported contacts, and restore your car's settings to their factory defaults,' according to Tesla's AI chatbot. The company also recommends deleting your 'HomeLink' devices – which can allow you to control things like your garage door, lights or home security system from your Tesla. Do that by clicking on the 'HomeLink' icon at the top of the 'Controls' screen then going to HomeLink settings, where you can remove connections to other devices.
In the settings of your vehicle and the Tesla app, you can opt not to share your data with the company. But as we've said before, be prepared to lose some functionality of your car.
Opting out of data-sharing in your car is fairly straightforward. In your vehicle, go to Settings > Software > Data sharing. Turn off 'allow data sharing'. This will disable the sharing of analytics, road segment, diagnostic, and vehicle usage data. Tesla's AI chatbot also recommended turning off 'allow Autopilot analytics' to stop sharing Autopilot-related data.
Opt out of mobile app location and data sharing. In the Tesla app, go to Settings (the button will either look like three horizontal lines or a gear icon). Then scroll down to Security and Privacy. Then select turn off Location Services. Click Turn off Analytics to stop sharing app usage data to the company. Then revoke access to your camera, microphone and contacts.
'By following these steps, you'll be sharing the least amount of data with Tesla while still enjoying the core features and functionalities of your vehicle and mobile app,' according to the Tesla AI chatbot.
But this will affect the functionality of your car. According to Tesla's chatbot, data sharing will impact these features:
'Remote vehicle monitoring and control through the mobile app (eg, checking your vehicle's status, location, and surroundings); navigation and routing optimization (although basic navigation will still work); geofencing and smart preconditioning (your vehicle won't be able to anticipate your arrival or departure); some Autopilot features, such as traffic-aware cruise control and automatic emergency braking, may not function optimally; over-the-air software updates might be delayed or unavailable; certain advanced safety features, like Emergency Services, may not work seamlessly.'
'I don't think it should be a trade-off,' Davisson said. 'It is true that some of the collision avoidance systems and autonomous features on Teslas like other vehicles do rely on data collection and cameras. But it should not come at the cost of the privacy, certainly of the driver or passengers of the vehicle or for people that happen to be in the area surrounding the vehicle.'