A viral video recently captured a situation that has the internet feeling deeply conflicted about the current state of autonomous driving technology. A passenger who goes by the handle @boostedboikyle shared his experience on Twitter (now X) after an Uber driver fell asleep at the wheel of a Tesla for roughly 90 percent of their highway trip, Daily Dot reported. It is a wild situation to consider because the driver remained unconscious for approximately 20 minutes while the car navigated the route entirely on its own.
The footage uploaded by the passenger shows the driver sound asleep while the song ‘Beautiful Things’ by Benson Boone plays in the background. You can see the car maintaining a safe and legally permitted speed limit throughout the recording, and the navigation unit remains active as it guides the vehicle toward the destination.
The passenger even noted that the vehicle handled the transition perfectly, stating, “It took the exit (on the highway) and drove me to my destination all by itself.” He concluded his narration of the event with a joking tone, though the implications of the incident have left many viewers feeling uneasy.
The video has sparked a massive debate, drawing over 1,000 comments from people who are clearly split on how to interpret the performance of the Full Self-Driving feature
Some people are genuinely impressed by the capability of the software, while others are rightfully focused on the professional conduct of the driver. One user pointed out the inherent risk of the situation, writing, “I would never trust this. What if he wakes up, gets scared, and jerks the steering wheel?” That same individual added, “I’d trust it more without a person there at all.” It is a valid concern, as the sudden transition from sleep to an active driving environment could lead to a dangerous reaction if the driver is startled.
Other commenters focused on the responsibility of the driver. One person who claims to be a regular user of the technology remarked, “The tech is cool, but the bro deserves a 1-star bad rating because Tesla clearly mentions we are to be ready to take over at any point.”
This is a critical point because the technology is designed to be supervised. Even though the car managed the highway route without incident, the expectation remains that a human should be ready to intervene at any moment. Another user expressed a different perspective, noting, “Well, I guess that is a life-saving affirmation of FSD.” A fourth user added, “Using FSD supervised, you should always supervise. But this is also proof of how safe FSD is.”
There is also a technical mystery surrounding why the system did not alert the driver. One viewer expressed confusion, asking, “How can the current FSD allow him to sleep? Mine tells me to wake up or pay attention every 30 seconds, unless I’m wearing sunglasses. Even then, it can detect when I’m sleeping.” It is genuinely strange that the system did not detect the driver’s lack of alertness, especially since the feature is designed to issue warnings if it detects a lack of engagement.
The conversation eventually moved over to X, where the account Whole Mars Catalog weighed in after sharing the original video. They are known for covering Tesla and the FSD feature quite favorably, but even they urged caution in this instance. They wrote in a statement on X, “Probably best to wake up the driver if this happens to you.”
This sparked a fresh round of discussion regarding the norms of safety and how Tesla might respond to such incidents. When asked about how the system handles drowsy drivers, Whole Mars Catalog replied, “It does detect when you’re drowsy and pull over, but it’s not 100%, particularly when sunglasses are on.” They also added, “Definitely better to have the driver awake. They can sleep when they get home.”
The reactions on X were just as varied as those on the original platform. One person joked, “Wake him up with a suspension from Uber.” Another user suggested, “Honestly, better to let him sleep. Imagine panicking, grabbing the steering wheel.” A final user kept it simple and stressed, “Wild that this even has to be said: Wake him up!”
While the technology clearly proved capable of handling a highway route in this specific instance, the consensus among most observers is that having an alert driver is still the only way to go.
Published: May 20, 2026 07:00 pm