Tesla is justifiably proud of its Autopilot feature, even if the technology isn’t quite as advanced as it claims. But no technology is completely immune to misuse, and a recent video of a Tesla driver proves the company may want to upgrade their self-driving features in the future to keep drivers from napping at the wheel.
The video is simplicity itself. Originally posted to Imgur, it shows a blue Tesla inching along in traffic, seemingly somewhere in California, while the driver snoozes behind the wheel. The car itself is working as intended, and if anything it’s a demonstration of just how robust even the relatively basic self-driving tools Tesla has installed really are. But we bet their engineers weren’t imagining catnaps behind the wheel as a perk of self-driving vehicles.
Just to emphasize here, this is really, really dumb. Tesla’s own literature emphasizes that the driver needs to be aware and ready to take control of the car, lest they become an accidental stuntman. If something had gone wrong, he would have been unable to figure out what was going on and deal with it safely.
Because we haven’t heard of a blue Tesla getting creamed by a semi or snarling traffic, we’ll assume this ended with the driver waking up and going to work. Maybe have a strong coffee next time, buddy.
(via Autoblog)
