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Business

Tesla should shut off ‘Autopilot’ that lets drivers snooze: senator

By
Noah Manskar
Published Nov. 21, 2019
Updated Nov. 21, 2019, 6:32 p.m. ET

A US senator is pressing Tesla to shut down its so-called Autopilot system until it can prevent drivers from falling asleep at the wheel.

Sen. Ed Markey said Tesla owners can trick the driver assistance tool by simply wedging an object into the steering wheel — potentially allowing them to snooze on the road.

Tesla’s autopilot function has also been used to make a sex flick, as The Post reported in May.

Autopilot helps Tesla’s cars accelerate, brake and steer in their lanes, but does not make the vehicles entirely autonomous. Drivers are supposed to keep their hands on the wheel when using it.

But YouTube videos teach drivers tricks to cheat the system such as shoving a water bottle or orange into the wheel, Markey said.

He pointed to a local news story about a Massachusetts man who slept while his Tesla cruised for about 14 miles.

“That’s not safe,” Markey said. “Somebody’s gonna die because they can go to YouTube as a driver, find a way to do this and then some innocent person on the street will wind up dead, or a driver in another car will wind up dead.”

James Owens, acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, told Markey his agency would contact Tesla about the issue.

The Massachusetts Democrat said he sent Tesla a letter about the problem this week.

“Tesla should disable Autopilot until it finds the problem, until it fixes the problem, until it can assure consumers who don’t own that vehicle that they’re safe on the roads or safe on the sidewalks,” Markey said at a Senate committee hearing.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday morning.