It isn't clear that Tesla pretended anything aside from a claim in the article. The article: 1) does not directly cite an original source; 2) walks back the claim to "acted as if". The police had access to everything in vehicle the entire time. The civil lawsuit plaintiffs also had access to everything as evidenced by their forensic expert's access. That Tesla also received a copy of the vehicle's data is not relevant.

Don't Talk to the Police: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE