There’s no denying that Tesla’s Autopilot system is an impressive technology, but it still requires the driver to be behind the wheel and alert at all times. Unfortunately, this is another case where that didn’t happen.
Kenosha County deputy David Gomez received a call early Sunday morning to look out for a Tesla Model 3 traveling down the highway with what appeared to be a sleeping driver in it. He found the vehicle, clocked it going 82 mph (131 km/h), and proceeded to pursue it.
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Gomez followed the car for over two miles, all the while changing the tone and pitch of his siren. It wasn’t until he came alongside the Tesla for the second time that its driver woke up and pulled off to the side of the road.
The officer then spoke to the 38-year-old driver, who said he was on his way to his job at FedEx. He claimed he wasn’t sleeping, and cited the fact that Autopilot periodically requires drivers to place their hands on the steering wheel.
However, according to Gomez, this was not the first time this incident has been reported. Two other attempts to pull over a car with this registration had been made before, both with the driver’s head was down and they were seemingly asleep while the vehicle continued to travel on its own.
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Interestingly, the driver didn’t receive any tickets for speeding, but a $187 citation for inattentive driving. However, the Model 3 was towed as Gomez felt it wasn’t safe for the 38-year-old to get behind the wheel again.