Tesla Autopilot: Hacking and Data Retrieval Insights

Tesla's Autopilot data is hacked to reveal the system's detection of obstacles and decision-making leading up to crashes.

### Inside the Secret World of Tesla Autopilot Hacking
* 🚗  The Wall Street Journal obtained **highly encrypted raw data** from Tesla's Autopilot sensors, typically kept secret by the company.
* 🔍  In order to access this data, a wrecked Tesla must be **dissected by a mechanic familiar with the car's components**.
* 🎥  The car's video recordings are paired with the extracted computer data to understand what the **Autopilot system detected or failed to detect**.
* 💻  Accessing the Autopilot computer involves disassembling it, revealing **heavily encrypted chips and circuitry**.
* 🕵️‍♂️  The computer is then sent to a hacker who uses a **microscope and soldering equipment** to extract **raw data from the sensors**.
* 📊  The hacked data reveals the car's radar and camera detections, showing how **Autopilot recognized and labeled objects on the road**.
* 🔒  Tesla's protection of this data makes it difficult to determine the **exact role Autopilot played in crashes**, despite the company providing crash data to drivers.
* 📈  This investigation sheds light on the **inner workings of Tesla's Autopilot system** and the challenges in accessing **crucial data for crash analysis**.

(suspenseful music) - [Narrator] This Tesla Autopilot
computer is being hacked to retrieve information almost nobody outside of Tesla can access. Highly encrypted raw data from
Tesla's Autopilot sensors. In the lead up to a crash, Tesla's computer system
records this data that tells us what obstacles the
Autopilot system detected or failed to detect, data Tesla protects as a trade secret. (suspenseful music intensifies) (suspenseful music softens) The company says they provide drivers with hundreds of data points on crashes with granularity down to the millisecond. But those data points don't show the exact
decisions Autopilot made. So, it's often hard to know what role Autopilot may
have played in crashes. (suspenseful music intensifies) (soft mysterious music) The Wall Street Journal
obtained a set of full data as part of its investigation into why Teslas in Autopilot

have been involved in hundreds of crashes, many of them deadly. The only way to get this information (bees buzzing) is from deep within the car itself. (mysterious electronic music) Here's how it's done. First, you need a wrecked Tesla. Then, you need a mechanic who knows these cars inside and out. (tool buzzing) - A Tesla's pretty much a computer on wheels. Hey, (chuckling) what's up man! I work on Teslas because I like 'em. I work on salvage Teslas, usually an accident wrecks. - [Narrator] In order (tool buzzing) to understand the car's data fully, it needs to be paired with video the car records, (components shuffling) which is on a USB drive in the car's glove compartment. (tool buzzing) - To pull the USB footage, open the glove box, (glove box clicking) there's no button for it. USB Drive? Looks like we have it.

(vehicle revving distantly) Oh! (soft electronic music) After watching the video, if we wanted to know whether or not Autopilot was on or off, the
video is not gonna say that. (soft suspenseful music) The computer will have that information. - [Narrator] Accessing
the Tesla's computer that stores this data
requires taking the car apart and disconnecting it
(tool buzzing) from the car's other components. - The computer's here on the footwell.
(component clicking) Under the glove box. (glove box shuffling) (component clicking) (component shuffling) And we have the computer off. - [Narrator] The next step is carefully cracking open the computer's casing,
(component clicking) exposing its chips and circuitry. - There's certain parts of these cars that
(tool buzzing) didn't anticipate ever being
removed or taken apart. This is the Autopilot computer. I've never seen a board with
so many resistors before.

in my life. (soft electronic music) Tesla's computer is heavily
encrypted and guarded. (bubble wrap shuffling) - [Narrator] Diaz then
sends the Autopilot computer across the country to a hacker. (tape swishing) The hacker uses a microscope and soldering equipment
to gain direct access to the central processing unit, from which he's able to extract raw data from the Tesla's sensors. We can see a constant
stream of information from the Tesla's radar, showing its detection of moving traffic, as well as stationary
obstacles like the guardrail. We can also see the inner workings of the most
important Autopilot sensor, the car's cameras. The hacked data shows
Autopilot recognizing and labeling objects on the road, judging their distance and position. Altogether, the data can show us what the car's software was seeing and the decisions it made
in the lead up to a crash. (suspenseful music intensifies)

How Hackers and Mechanics Unearth Tesla’s Hidden Autopilot Data | WSJ

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The Wall Street Journal

Unauthorized Access to Tesla's Autopilot Data

Tesla's Autopilot computer is being hacked to retrieve highly encrypted raw data, usually kept secret by the company.

The Wall Street Journal obtained this data to investigate the system's role in hundreds of crashes, including deadly ones.

Accessing the information requires a wrecked Tesla and a mechanic familiar with the car, along with the video footage recorded by the car, found on a USB drive in the glove compartment.

The video shows the process of accessing the Tesla's computer to determine if the Autopilot was activated.

Accessing the computer requires taking the car apart and disconnecting it from other components located under the glove box.

The process involves carefully opening the computer's casing to expose its chips and circuitry, providing the information needed.

A hacker gains access to Tesla's Autopilot computer and extracts raw data from the car's sensors.

The hacked data reveals the car's detection of traffic, obstacles, and its decision-making process, providing insight into the events leading up to a crash.

The process involves using a microscope and soldering equipment to directly access the central processing unit of the Autopilot computer.