Passenger in shock as Tesla Robotaxi 'safety' driver falls asleep while driving
The driver is there to take over if things go wrong with the autonomous car
Featured Image Credit: Tim Goessman/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A passenger has been left in shock after a Tesla Robotaxi ‘safety’ driver allegedly fell asleep while driving.
A video shared on social media appeared to show the driver falling asleep behind the wheel.
Despite the vehicle being capable of autonomous drive, as a safety precaution, a person is currently present in the driver’s seat in case they need to take over.
In a post uploaded to Reddit, one user shared: “I took a Tesla Robotaxi in SF just over a week ago. I have used the service a few times before and it has always been great. I actually felt safer than in a regular rideshare.
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“This time was different. The safety driver literally fell asleep at least three times during the ride. Each time the car’s pay attention safety alert went off and the beeping is what woke him back up.
“I reported it through the app to the Robotaxi support team and told them I had videos, but I never got a response.
“I held off on posting anything because I wanted to give Tesla a chance to respond privately. It has been more than a week now and this feels like a serious issue for other riders too. Has anyone else seen this happen?”
Others took to the comment section to share their own reactions to the clip, with one user writing: “I would have hysterically screamed like if my life was about to end so he never does it again.”
Another said: “Am I weird…? Because I would have woke his ass up the second I noticed…”
A third person commented: “Dude! This was my driver too! I already reported him to Tesla. Wtf?? It was 7am driving from Temescal to SF. Took an hour with traffic and it was just this the entire time.”
And a fourth added: “They are (supposedly) trained test drivers, that should be ready to intervene and take over if there's an issue. Waymo did this a long time ago so they could be driverless today. It's completely insane that this guy fell asleep, though understandable, if they're being overworked.”
Tesla’s current permit from California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) requires the robotaxis to have a supervisor driver in the car while it tests the operations of the autonomous vehicle.
A similar approach was given to Waymo before the firm started to offer fully driverless taxi rides.
UNILAD Tech has contacted Tesla for comment.