Tesla worker filmed allegedly sleeping with Autopilot active
That's not a good look.
YouTube user Mike Cagulada posted a video Thursday that allegedly shows a Tesla employee asleep at the wheel of a Tesla mobile service vehicle while the vehicle drove down the road, presumably on Autopilot, near Tesla's operations in Fremont, California.
The video sure makes it look like he's asleep, but there's no firm proof that this is the case. He could well be suffering from a medical issue instead of just taking a snooze. It's not a very long video, and it's unclear just how long this was happening.
"We take safety very seriously and are investigating this incident," said a Tesla spokesperson via text message.
Tesla has received plenty of flak in recent months for how easy it is to bypass some of the safeguards in its Autopilot system (Autopilot Buddy, anyone?), and you'd think the company would make extra sure that its system was being used as safely as possible, but this employee may not have received the memo.
Autopilot is capable of holding the vehicle in its lane and keeping up with traffic on highways. The system still requires the full attention of the person behind the wheel, because it could pass control back to the driver at a moment's notice. It has the capability to help make roads safer, so long as it's used in its intended manner.
