Video of Tesla driver fast asleep while barrelling down the highway

A video on Twitter appears to show a woman asleep at the wheel of her Tesla — on a California highway near Temecula.

ABC news reports that Kiki Dolas was driving on the freeway when she passed a woman asleep at the wheel of her car.

Dolas told Eyewitness News she was driving along the 15 Freeway in Temecula last week when she saw the sleeping woman, and she made a video of what she saw. 

The video briefly shows a woman  in the driver’s seat of a white Tesla, slouched and apparently sound asleep as the car moves forward.

The woman’s slumped posture made Dolas wonder if there had been a medical issue. She followed the car, honking loudly, for about 15 minutes, in the hope of waking the woman.

She then called police.

The car, said Dolas, “Was just kind of riding alongside of us. It would accelerate a little and then slow down, even when there wasn’t that many cars ahead of it.

“At one point, it just sort of took off. We actually had to accelerate ourselves to go catch up with it.”

Maybe so, but self-driving cars aren’t quite here yet, and Tesla’s FSD — Full Self-Driving — does not exist. It is still in the experimental stage. 

Even in advanced driver assist, the car demands constant check-ins from the driver, who must touch the steering wheel regularly.

Dolas said that the California Highway Patrol contacted her afterward and confirmed the woman was asleep. She had not suffered any medical issue.

Comment on social media ranged from confused to sceptical.

“Not sure how this is possible as it requires you to nudge the steering wheel ever 30 seconds or so. Or if it detects you’re not watching the road (interior camera that can read stuff like that). Either way, this should not be happening,” was one typical Twitter response.

And a cynic commented, “yall got played…this one is scripted..they are friends trying to shoot their way to fame in the age of social media..”