CHP probing driver-less Tesla found on local highway
(Photos courtesy California Highway Patrol)
The California Highway Patrol says it is investigating a report of a Tesla vehicle that was operating on a local roadway without a person in the driver’s seat.
The incident happened earlier this month when an eyewitness snapped several photographs of a moving Tesla sedan with a smiling person sitting in the backseat of the vehicle.
Tesla vehicles are known for featuring a technology similar to Autopilot, in which the car uses advanced computers and sensors to navigate a vehicle along the roadway with minimal assistance from the driver.
The company warns that a person should still occupy the driver’s seat while the vehicle is in motion or otherwise operational.
“Current autopilot features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous,” Tesla warns on its website.
But someone didn’t get that message, and the CHP is now investigating the apparent act.
“The CHP received a report of the incident as third-hand information, and it is under investigation,” the agency wrote in a social media post.
The CHP didn’t say where the incident reportedly occurred, but the photos were posted to the social media page of the agency’s Golden Gate Division, which includes Solano County among other Bay Area communities.
Law enforcement officials say anyone who witnesses suspicious activity should call 9-1-1, which in most cases connects directly to CHP dispatchers.
The CHP is California’s state-wide law enforcement agency, with jurisdiction on all roadways.
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