• Videos show Tesla drivers apparently asleep behind the wheel.
  • One clip captures a Model X driver dozing on a busy US highway.
  • Debate continues over using customers as real-world testers.

Several high-profile crashes have already shown what can happen when drivers fall asleep behind the wheel of Teslas and other modern cars. Yet plenty of owners still seem comfortable placing remarkable faith in driver-assistance tech. As these systems grow more capable, the boundary between driver aid and true autonomy is starting to blur, in the eyes of consumers, in ways that can invite complacency.

Over the past couple of weeks alone, at least three separate incidents showing Tesla drivers asleep at the wheel have circulated online. The first surfaced on Reddit and appears to show the moment a female driver in a Model X nods off while the EV continues along a US highway.

Read: Sleeping Tesla Driver Shocked Autopilot Didn’t Tuck Him In Before Plowing Into Police Cruiser

It’s unclear whether the Model X in question was running Full Self-Driving (Supervised) at the time or simply had the Autopilot system enabled. Current versions of FSD are intended to prevent this scenario by actively monitoring the driver to ensure they remain attentive. If the system determines the driver is unresponsive, it can initiate procedures that bring the vehicle to a stop.

Video Reddit

However, older versions of FSD lacked this capability. Some earlier iterations of Autopilot could also be fooled by placing weights on the steering wheel, allowing the vehicle to believe the driver still had their hands on it.

Model 3 And Model Y Owners Do The Same

This week, another video from KRON4 captured both the older driver and passenger of a Tesla Model 3 apparently asleep as the car traveled along Highway 4 in California’s East Bay. As with the previous clip, it is impossible to determine whether FSD or Autopilot was active at the time, though the vehicle’s systems appear unaware that neither occupant was ready to take control.

ABC7 also recently published footage of a Tesla Model Y being driven by a seemingly sleeping motorist. Filmed in Colton, California, the video appears to show the driver asleep behind the wheel while wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses.

While Tesla continues to improve its driver-assistance systems, incidents like these are likely to persist as long as the company relies on customers to test evolving systems in real-world conditions rather than completing development before releasing them to the public.