California resident Henry Yeh, the owner of a Tesla Model Y, has initiated a potential class action lawsuit against Tesla for invading his privacy.

Should we expect any level of privacy in today’s world? Most of us understand various levels of government have cameras recording public areas at all times. Some neighborhoods have cameras and post signs about these cameras, and we’re all aware that satellite images can capture various aspects of daily life. If you don’t think you’re being watched, simply check out some of the images on Google Earth and you’ll see.

Should our cars capture images of surrounding activities?

This is where things get a little hairy and uncomfortable with the Tesla technology. The Sentry Mode installed on Tesla vehicles is supposed to be an advanced security system that captures images and activity around a vehicle when its parked. Unfortunately, some of what’s been captured goes a little too far. While some owners would probably be glad to have images and videos uploaded to a central server that might capture the entire active a vehicle being stolen, some might not appreciate what’s happened at Tesla.

Ex-Tesla employees blew the whistle on juvenile activity

Combing through millions of hours of video and data can be a monotonous task and one that requires some form of levity to break it up. Still, it’s not acceptable for Tesla to invade our privacy by sharing videos and images around the office. Most of us can only image how many different things are caught on traffic cameras, security feeds, and other recording devices while we’re out in public. Once we arrive at home, we should have a sense of security and privacy, but that’s not happening and some Tesla employees took things too far.

How far were things taken at Tesla?

Seven ex-Tesla employees reported various immature activities surrounding the Sentry Mode feeds at the company. It seems that if an employee found something interesting on video, they turned it into a shared meme or video meant for humorous fodder around the office. While mostly harmless, this is immature and only the beginning of the privacy invasion surrounding this new lawsuit. Things get a lot worse and should make many Tesla owners rethink using the Sentry Mode.

How did things get worse?

Probably the most damaging aspect of what Sentry Mode has captured on video is views into homes of Tesla owners. Although the system can’t see through walls, if you park in your garage, its capturing activities, and images around the garage.

When you park in the street, this system could capture a couple having an argument down the block. The ex-Tesla employees admitted they could see children, pets, and some intimate activities taking place in the area where the Tesla vehicle was parked. Many parents want to keep their children private and protect them from their faces being online, but that can’t happen if camera are capturing these images and videos around their home.

Not only does this system show images of homes and activities happening around it, but it can also lead to Tesla owners being located. Although part of the appeal of Sentry Mode is supposed to be anonymity of owners, the former employees reported that using landmarks, its pretty easy for Tesla to locate the vehicle owners. This is a direct breech of privacy and a serious problem.

Tesla shouldn’t have had this problem

Tesla is a California-based company and the California Constitution protects a family’s right to privacy. This should have made it easy for Tesla to avoid this problem, but when ex-employees tell the world about the nefarious activities at the office with many owners becoming office fodder, we learn just how little our privacy is being protected. Some of these former employees even stated they would never buy a Tesla because they know how the company is using the videos and images.

What can Tesla do to fix this problem?

The first thing Tesla should do to protect the privacy of the public and its owners is to remove Sentry Mode from all Tesla vehicles. This company invented the over-the-air updates, it can certainly turn off the system that creates this problem. As for the lawsuit against Tesla, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a class action suit.

Still, how private are our lives with the number of cameras, satellites, and images being captured every day? This is simply one company that captured images and used them in a juvenile fashion which caused reports to come to light.