Tesla has been one of the leaders in trying to bring driverless cars to the public. It's an ambitious project that obviously comes with a lot of questions around safety.
But one bloke wanted to see just how good the autopilot feature is at the moment when he was driving down a UK motorway at 40 miles per hour.
Bhavesh Patel was caught by another motorist sitting in the passenger seat of his £70,000 Tesla S 60 on the M1. Seriously dude, autopilot is cool but not sitting in the driver's seat definitely isn't.
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The incident was filmed and sent to Hertfordshire Constabulary, who were shocked to not only see the driver not in the driver's seat, but to also have his hands behind his head.
Mr Patel's daring test happened on the northbound carriageway of the M1, between junctions 8 and 9 near Hemel Hempstead in May last year. Authorities eventually caught up with him and booked him for unsafe driving.
Investigating officer PC Kirk Caldicutt said: "He not only endangered his own life but the lives of other innocent people using the motorway on that day.
"This case should serve as an example to all drivers who have access to autopilot controls and have thought about attempting something similar.
"I want to stress that they are in no way a substitute for a competent motorist in the driving seat who can react appropriately to the road ahead."
Mr Patel was banned from driving for 18 months as well as ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, 10 days of rehabilitation to teach him how to drive safely and fork out £1,800 for the Crown Prosecution Service.
PC Caldicutt added: "I hope Patel uses his disqualification period to reflect on why he chose to make such a reckless decision on that day."
The autopilot feature is still being tweaked but it essentially can keep a car centred in a lane, change lanes, adapt cruise control, park on its own and even be summoned by the driver out of a parking spot or garage.
It works through a series of cameras, sonars and radar systems that detect other vehicles on the road.
But that only applies when you're on a motorway, it's not yet close enough being able to mimic city driving, navigating traffic and pedestrians. There have been a few high-profile fatalities involving autopilot cars
But Tesla frontman Elon Musk says the technology is constantly evolving and he's hoping to be able to have a car that can drive from coast to coast in America by the middle of this year.
Featured Image Credit: Hertfordshire PoliceTopics: tesla, Technology, UK, Cars