Story at a glance
- Authorities Monday received calls about a Tesla Model 3 with no one in the driver’s seat traveling down a busy highway in the Bay Area.
- An officer at the Bay Bridge toll plaza in Oakland saw the car pass without anyone in the driver’s seat and pulled the vehicle over.
- Authorities arrested 25-year-old Param Sharma on two counts of reckless driving and disobeying a peace officer.
A California man seen sitting in the backseat of a Tesla that was driving down a busy highway without anyone in the driver’s seat was arrested after fellow motorists alerted police.
The California Highway Patrol said 911 dispatchers received calls about a Tesla Model 3 with no one in the driver’s seat traveling east on Interstate 80 across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge toward Oakland Monday.
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An officer at the Bay Bridge toll plaza in Oakland saw the car pass without anyone in the driver’s seat and pulled the vehicle over.
“The officer observed the individual move into the driver’s seat. The occupant then brought the Tesla to a stop on the shoulder of I-80 eastbound just west of Powell Street, where the officer arrested Sharma,” the California Highway Patrol said in a statement.
Authorities arrested 25-year-old Param Sharma on two counts of reckless driving and disobeying a peace officer. The Tesla was towed from the scene and the incident is under investigation.
Sharma had previously been cited on April 27 for similar behavior, and authorities said video of someone resembling him riding in the back of a Model 3 with no visible driver had been posted to social media.
In an interview with KTVU after his release from jail Tuesday, Sharma said he planned to ride in the backseat again to demonstrate the autopilot function of the vehicle.
The electric vehicle maker’s autopilot system allows the cars to brake, accelerate and steer automatically, among other capabilities, but Tesla says the feature does not make the car fully autonomous and requires driver supervision.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating more than two dozen accidents involving Tesla vehicles, and the car maker’s autopilot system has come under scrutiny following recent crashes.
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