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TikTok Video Shows No One In The Driving Seat Of Tesla Car

TikTok Video Shows No One In The Driving Seat Of Tesla Car

Four partying passengers are in the self-driving car as it speeds down a California highway - but none are in the driving seat

Simon Catling

Simon Catling

A shocking video has gone viral on TikTok showing a Tesla car on autopilot with no one in the driver's seat and passengers partying and listening to music while two of them appear to be drinking alcohol.

In the video clip posted on the social media app, the car is driving down a California highway at speeds of over 60 mph.

Four young men are sitting in the car - one in the front passenger seat and three in the back, including the person filming - as they sing along to Justin Bieber's 2010 hit 'Baby'.

The video shows cans of a range of American alcoholic drinks, including White Claw, Truly, Four Loko and Natty Light Seltzer, all of which are usually minimum five percent ABV. Two of the men are wearing sunglasses, with one of them wearing a face mask.

The caption 'When your car Is A Better Driver than you' is shown over the top of the video.

TikTok

There is nothing inherently shocking about seeing a Tesla self-driving car on autopilot of course. However, as stated on the company's website itself, the use of the technology needs to be regulated by 'a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment'.

With none of the party of four in the driver's seat, it's clear none of them would be able to react if something should go wrong.

And things have gone wrong.

The Tesla autopilot technology has caused several fatalities and more close calls, with a federal probe launched after a 12th Tesla crash last December.

TikTok

Four fatal accident have occurred while the autopilot technology was engaged. Most recently, in March 2019, Florida driver Jeremy Banner died when his Tesla Model S slammed into a trailer truck.

According to National Transportation Safety Board investigators, Banner turned on the autopilot feature about 10 seconds before the crash, only for it to fail to react to the impending collision. Three other fatalities linked to the technology date back to 2016.

Nevertheless, self-driving car technology looks likely to be here to stay, with record numbers of Tesla cars sold in 2019.

Elon Musk has previously said accidents involving Tesla vehicles' autopilot function are due to the 'complacency' of drivers rather than the technology itself.

He said in 2018: "When there is a serious accident it is almost always, in fact maybe always, the case that it is an experienced user, and the issue is more one of complacency.

"They just get too used to it. That tends to be more of an issue. It's not a lack of understanding of what Autopilot can do. It's [drivers] thinking they know more about Autopilot than they do."

Featured Image Credit: TikTok