Tesla Driver Falls Asleep At Wheel, Leads Police On 15 Minute Car Chase

When you imagine a "car chase," you likely remember an intense, action-packed race between a driver attempting dangerous stunts to evade capture and the police who eventually reign him in. A recent viral car chase in Bavaria, Germany is quite the opposite of that.

German police report that a man driving down the A70 (an autobahn in southern Germany) in his Tesla failed to pull over when police put on their sirens, leading to a 15-minute medium-speed chase that involved no dangerous stunts or violence. As it turned out, this was because the driver was quite literally asleep at his Tesla's self-driving wheel.

Man falls asleep in Tesla with his car on autopilot ends up getting pursued by police in high speed chase‼️😳 pic.twitter.com/3AyBeb10lp

— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) January 3, 2023

As reported by Sky News, an unnamed German man had turned on his Tesla's autopilot feature, reclined and took a little snooze while police hunted him down (at a nice cruising speed of 68 MPH).

Upon waking up, the man immediately followed police instructions and pulled over, ending a harrowingly pleasant drive through the German countryside. Police said the man exhibited signs of drug-typical abnormalities, suggesting he may have been intoxicated. He was forced to turn in his driver's license until an investigation is completed.

I just can't imagine going to sleep while driving and leaving my safety in the hands of a tesla. incomprehensible. pic.twitter.com/uhlZC1XM3L

— Munter S. Thompson (@WestCoastRogue) January 4, 2023

The bizarre chase adds to a strange week for Tesla in general, plummeting stock aside. Earlier this week, director Neill Blomkamp reported in a viral post that the passenger-side window of his Tesla simply cracked without provocation.

Has anyone ever heard of a Tesla window spontaneously cracking on its own? For no reason? I’m sitting in car and this just happened… pic.twitter.com/vRA8hb31En

— Neill Blomkamp (@NeillBlomkamp) January 1, 2023

On a slightly more positive note, a man careened his Tesla off a California cliff where it plummeted an estimated 250-300 feet into a pit in an effort to kill himself and his family, according to police reports. Miraculously, all four people in the car survived, which some are taking as a testament to the car's safety features.

❤️🙏 Tesla. 250 Foot cliff, all 4 survived, non life threatening injuries.

and just to point it out no fire. Hell yes. https://t.co/e9kx3mVtSL

— Meccanica (@dictionaryhill) January 3, 2023