--- title: "Cops Say They Won’t Ticket Elon Musk for Driving While on the Phone" description: "In spite of flagrantly breaking state law, Elon Musk won't be fined by local police for his live-streamed self-driving stunt." date: "2023-08-30" modified: "2023-08-30" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/police-elon-musk-distracted-driving" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "fsd" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Cops Say They Won’t Ticket Elon Musk for Driving While on the Phone ![In spite of flagrantly breaking state law, Elon Musk won't be fined by local police for his live-streamed self-driving stunt.]() *\Image: Carina Johansen via Getty / Futurism\* ## Breaking the Law In spite of [flagrantly breaking state law](), Elon Musk won't be fined by local police for his live-streamed self-driving stunt. The captain of the Palo Alto Police Department [told *The Verge*]() that because none of his officers personally witnessed the incident — which involved Musk not only filming himself while operating a Tesla in a new version of so-called [full self-driving]() (FSD) mode, but also [having to take back control of the car]() when it was about to careen through a red light — the agency would not be issuing a citation or fine. "Had an officer observed the driver with the phone in their hand, they could have issued the driver an infraction ticket for violating California’s handsfree law," Palo Alto PD Captain James Reifschneider told *The Verge* via email. "As no officer witnessed it happening in person at the time of occurrence, though, no ticket is forthcoming." ## Legal Precedent It would be one thing if any version of [Tesla's FSD actually worked]() the way it's intended. But given that Musk literally had to intervene to stop it from plowing through a red light — which would have constituted yet another traffic violation — it's safe to argue that he should have had both hands on the wheel and been paying better attention. This is, of course, neither the first law Musk has broken nor the most serious by any means — the man's been accused of everything from [violating labor law]() to that [whole]() [SEC]() [fiasco]() — but in this case, the world's richest man could actually have put himself or others in immediate danger due to his distracted driving, which one would think the Palo Alto PD would care about. We've reached out to PAPD about whether it would be considered a separate ticket-worthy offense to nearly run a red light while driving distracted, as Musk filmed himself doing red-handed, but have not yet heard back. **More on Musk:** [*Huge Crowd of Gamers Boos Elon Musk for Ruining Twitter*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()