Tesla Driver Falls Sound Asleep Zooming Down Turnpike


Weird | By Angelica Osborn | September 13, 2019

The concept of self driving cars sounds like something straight out of science fiction. Self-driving cars are pretty much what every sci-fi film has, like the Johnny Cabs in Totall Recall. It is a fun though - none of us having to worry about operating a motor vehicle anymore. Everything would be safe, right?

There are many issues with self-driving cars. The biggest problem is a problem of ethics. If a self-driving car has to decide to either run into a baby or a group of five adults, which should it choose? That's a decision that we as a society have to come up with an answer for, whether we like it or not.

All of those moral quandaries aside, the fun thing we are all looking forward to is the day when we can sleep on our way to work as our car drives for us. We're not quite there yet, even with Tesla's self-driving modes, but that didn't stop one driver from falling asleep at the wheel behind his Tesla.

Sleeping at the Wheel

Tesla owners get a bad wrap. Part of that is because people are simply jealous of Tesla owners, so it is easy to be annoyed with them. Another reason is because Tesla owners are so proud of being Tesla owners that it is just genuinely annoying. They can also tend to be bad drivers! A new video only helps to prove the "annoying Tesla driver" trope. It depicts a Tesla driver sleeping soundly while cruising at 55mph.

We know about this incident because another driver took a video of it, which is dangerous in its own right, but not nearly as dangerous as driving while asleep! To be fair, the Tesla does have a self-driving feature called Autopilot but it is not meant to be solely relied on. The manufacturer even says you must have your hands on the wheel while using the feature.

Tesla Condemns this Behavior

Dakota Randall is the driver who took the video on the Massachusetts turnpike. Randall attempted to honk at the driver several times, however, the driver still remained asleep. According to Randall, "It was just so strange and baffling. I thought I saw somebody asleep at the wheel but I wasn't sure, so I did a double-take. Sure enough. They looked like they needed to go home and go to bed."

Tesla has a shady history on how they promote their Autopilot mode. Their website states that the driver needs to be attentive, however, marketing videos seem to show the driver handless behind the wheel. According to Tesla, videos like the one Randall took are often hoaxes, but for Randall the moment was very real. Tesla thinks that maybe the Tesla driver was the one pulling the hoax, but Randall disagrees.

No Laughing Matter

Tesla has a shady history on how they promote their Autopilot mode. Their website states that the driver needs to be attentive, however, marketing videos seem to show the driver handless behind the wheel. According to Tesla, videos like the one Randall took are often hoaxes, but for Randall the moment was very real. Tesla thinks that maybe the Tesla driver was the one pulling the hoax, but Randall disagrees.

This is actually a serious issue, even though the video is very funny. There have been at least 3 fatal crashes due to Tesla's Autopilot mode. According to the car's records, one user took his hands off the wheel for six seconds and was involved in a fatal crash. It is unfortunate that people will willingly choose not to use a product properly, leading to their demise, but the blame will always circle back to Tesla for allowing the feature.

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