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California man crashes into police car after falling asleep in his self-driving Tesla
The Tesla driver, a 22-year-old man from Sacramento, California, escaped without injuries.
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A 22- year-old Tesla driver claimed he was asleep at the wheel when his vehicle, in Full Self-Driving mode, crashed into a California Highway Patrol (CHP) vehicle, injuring two officers. The incident took place on October 13 on Interstate 80 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Dashcam footage shared on X by the CHP shows the Tesla approaching a patrol vehicle that was stationed at the scene of an earlier crash. Officers had closed several lanes while investigating the incident, with warning flares, traffic cones and flashing emergency lights marking the restricted area.
Despite the warnings, the Tesla entered the closed section and struck the occupied patrol car from behind. Two officers inside the vehicle sustained serious injuries and were taken to a hospital for treatment. Both were later released, according to the CHP.
“Two Solano CHP officers were seriously injured when a Tesla struck their patrol vehicle on I-80 eastbound, despite flares, cones, and flashing emergency lights. The driver claimed he was asleep while using driver-assistance technology. Drivers must remain alert and in control,” the CHP wrote on X while sharing the video.
The Tesla driver, a 22-year-old man from Sacramento, California, escaped without injuries. Investigators said the driver told officers he had been asleep while the vehicle was operating in driver-assistance mode.
Investigation ongoing
In the post, CHP urged motorists to remain alert and in control of their vehicles. The CHP also reiterated that Tesla’s Full Self-Driving feature does not make a vehicle fully autonomous.
“Despite its name, Full Self-Driving is not fully autonomous. Technology does not relieve drivers of their responsibility to safely operate their vehicles,” the department said in a warning displayed alongside the video.
“Slow down. Move over. Stay alert. Lives depend on it,” it added.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing. Authorities have not yet announced what charges, if any, the driver could face.
Notably, Tesla’s website states that, while fully autonomous driving is a goal for the future, Full Self-Driving (Supervised), “intelligently and accurately completes driving manoeuvres... under your active supervision.”
“Currently enabled features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous,” it adds.
