Tesla Model S driver watches movie, crashes into police car

A Tesla Model S whose driver was watching a movie on his phone while his car was on Autopilot smashed into the rear of a police patrol car in North Carolina, USA. 

Nobody was hurt in the crash, but the Tesla was destroyed and the rear-end of the police car was badly damaged and a wheel was ripped off.

Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone commented 'It shows automation is never going to take the place of the motoring public paying attention, not texting, not being on the phone, but focusing on what you were doing, that is, driving.'

Tesla has been accused of unduly hyping the capabilities of its Autopilot and Full-self Driving functions by multiple regulators in the US and elsewhere.

News, commentary, analysis 🗞️

• https://nypost.com/2020/08/27/tesla-driver-watching-movie-while-using-autopilot-crashes-into-cop-car/

• https://www.foxnews.com/auto/tesla-on-autopilot-hits-police-car-as-driver-watches-movie-on-cellphone

• https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/driver-was-watching-movie-when-tesla-plowed-into-nash-county-deputys-vehicle-troopers-say/

• https://jalopnik.com/tesla-driver-watching-movie-while-using-autopilot-crash-1844858198

• https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/patrol-tesla-autopilot-driver-watching-movie-crashed-72685378

• https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article245267595.html

• https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-model-s-autopilot-crash-police-car-driver-watching-movie-2020-8

• https://www.carscoops.com/2020/08/tesla-on-autopilot-crashes-into-police-vehicle-in-north-carolina-driver-admits-to-watching-a-movie/

• https://cleantechnica.com/2020/09/04/driver-misuses-tesla-autopilot-crashes-into-cop-car-reminder-to-not-watch-movies-while-driving/