European crash test organization: no evidence that Tesla manipulated test with code

Euro NCAP says it has not yet found evidence that Tesla is manipulating crash tests by using special code. References to individual crash test organizations were found in the code of Tesla cars, leading some to suspect Tesla was cheating.

The references to individual crash test organizations such as Ancap and Euro NCAP are used, according to Tesla, to be able to configure the car for the region in which it is used. This is necessary, according to Euro NCAP program director Aled Williams, as different regions have different legislation and road markings, Williams writes to CNN. Cars are also tested on the track in crash tests, where crashes are simulated in realistic conditions. For such crash tests, the car must know what the legal frameworks are and what the road looks like, seems to be Tesla’s answer.

In September, prominent Tesla hacker Green announced that he had found references to crash test organizations in the Tesla code. The hacker indicated that he did not know what the code was used for, but suggested that the code could be used to influence test results. According to Williams, that is not the case, based on the ongoing investigation. Tesla also denies to Euro NCAP recognizing that it is at a test track based on the GPS location of a car and thus adapting the car for a crash test.

Williams does say that the investigation is still ongoing and that they want to repeat the previous crash tests to validate the results. When rating the Model Y, Euro NCAP said this EV “breaks records” when it comes to safety and praised the car’s safety assistants, among other things. “In Euro NCAP track tests, the Vision system, which uses only cameras, performs remarkably well when it comes to avoiding collisions with other cars, cyclists and pedestrians,” wrote Euro NCAP in September.