A Tesla driver has been spotted several times over the past week sitting in the backseat while his Tesla Model 3 drives on Autopilot.
He appears to get a kick out of people filming him while engaging in this dangerous and illegal driving behavior.
Over the last few weeks, the ability to have a Tesla vehicle drive on Autopilot while no one is in the driver’s seat has gained a lot of attention after a fatal accident in Texas where the authorities reported that no one was in the driver’s seat.
Tesla has denied Autopilot’s involvement in the crash and it is currently being investigated by NHTSA and NTSB.
Nonetheless, it has brought a lot of attention to driving Tesla vehicles on Autopilot without being in the front seat, which is not only against Tesla’s instructions on how to use Autopilot, but more importantly, is considered dangerous driving and illegal in many jurisdictions.
Yet it is not discouraging this seemingly new Tesla owner from driving his new Model 3 from the backseat:
This man has been spotted several times in the Bay Area over the last week driving his car, which has the new tag “BJ09C06,” on Autopilot while sitting in the backseat.
Several sightings were posted on social media:
Above, he is seen using his foot to apply pressure to the steering wheel, which is Tesla’s only driver monitoring system when using Autopilot.
In order for Autopilot to stay activated, Tesla requires drivers to apply pressure to the steering wheel at regular intervals, depending on the speed.
The driver’s seatbelt also needs to be buckled, but the driver can buckle the seatbelt behind their back before activating Autopilot.
Electrek’s Take
The police need to find this guy and arrest him, or at least give him a pricey ticket, for dangerous driving.
He is completely abusing Autopilot, which is a suite of driver assist features and not an autonomous driving system.
Every time you activate it in the vehicle, Tesla sends you a message to keep your hands on the wheel and be ready to take control at all times. That’s obviously something you can’t do from the backseat.
It doesn’t mean Tesla can’t do anything either. If Autopilot can bring the vehicle to a stop if you unbuckle your seatbelt, it should do the same if it doesn’t detect weight in the driver’s seat.
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.
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Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
