--- title: "Tesla Driver, Watching Movie on Autopilot, Slams Into Police Cars" description: "WRAL reports that a Raleigh driver was watching a movie on his phone while his Tesla was on Autopilot slammed into two police cars." date: "2020-08-27" modified: "2020-08-27" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-driver-watching-movie-autopilot-slams-police-cars" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "automotive" - "autopilot" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla Driver, Watching Movie on Autopilot, Slams Into Police Cars ![WRAL reports that a Raleigh driver was watching a movie on his phone while his Tesla was on Autopilot slammed into two police cars.]() *\Image: Futurism\* ## Crash Course North Carolina *NBC* affiliate *WRAL* [reports that]() a Raleigh doctor named Devainder Goli was watching a movie on his phone, while his Tesla was on Autopilot, when the vehicle narrowly missed one police vehicle only to slam into two more. "Luckily, the state trooper pushed our deputy out of the way when he heard the tires squall and in an instant we could have lost a life or several lives," Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone told the *NBC* affiliate. "It could have been very horrific." ## Easy Rider A photo published by *WRAL* shows the side of one of the police cars heavily crumpled after the wreck, with the rear left tire almost completely disconnected from its chassis. The drivers of both police cars were not in them at the time of the wreck, according to *WRAL*, and the driver, Goli, has been charged with a move over violation and viewing a television device while driving. ## WhAI Not The incident is just [one]() [more]() [accident]() that draws attention to Tesla's over-the-top marketing for its vehicles' limited self-driving capabilities. Critics [argue that]() calling the feature "Autopilot" — and hyping what the company says will eventually be "full self-driving capabilities — gives Tesla drivers unrealistic expectations for what the system is currently capable of. Autopilot does require drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel, but third parties have [even sold devices]() intended to bypass that limitation. "There needs to come a time when we need to understand that automation can not do everything," Stone told *WRAL*. "It’s not enhancing our safety, and in this situation, it could kill two law enforcement agents." **READ MORE:** [Tesla on 'autopilot' hits Nash County deputy's cruiser, while driver watches movie]() \[*WRAL*\] **More on Autopilot:** *[Tesla Crash Shows Drivers Are Confused By “Autonomous” vs. “Autopilot”]()* ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()