Tesla’s Autopilot, which is one of the most advanced on the market, was recently used to drive seven miles down a highway while the driver is alleged to have been asleep and drunk behind the wheel.
Police spotted the gray Model S belonging to Alexander Samek, the chair of the Los Altos Planning Commission, doing 70 mph on Highway 101 early Friday. As this was above the speed limit, officers pulled up alongside the car and noticed that Samek was allegedly asleep, leading them to assume it was in autopilot mode.
California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Art Montiel said cops moved behind Samek’s vehicle and tried to get him to pull over by turning on their lights and sirens, but he was “unresponsive.”
The Autopilot system in Tesla vehicles alerts drivers if it detects they’re not holding the wheel. It eventually slows the car down and stops it if the warnings are ignored. It’s assumed the Model S in this incident managed to travel 7 miles because Samek had been putting pressure on the wheel as he slept.
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