Overview
- Police in Parker, Colorado, stopped a Tesla that they said was traveling 64 mph in a 45 mph zone and issued the driver a citation.
- Body-worn camera footage shows the driver telling the officer, “I wasn't driving,” and blaming the car’s auto-assist or Full Self-Driving feature for the speed.
- The Parker Police Department used the encounter and the released video to remind the public that adaptive cruise control, lane centering, and systems marketed as full self-driving do not replace the human driver.
- The driver refused the ticket on scene, asked to speak with a supervisor, and told the officer to complain to Tesla customer service, while police said the person in the driver’s seat remains legally accountable.
- Coverage of the stop highlights a wider problem: naming and marketing of Level 2 driver-assist systems can confuse drivers about control and liability, but the incident has not prompted any immediate policy or legal change.