Param Sharma, 25, is a Tesla model 3 owner who got arrested on Monday after he was spotted riding in the backseat with advanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode on.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) announced that it has arrested 25-year-old Param Sharma for reckless driving of a Tesla while in the backseat on Interstate 80 (I-80) in the Bay Area. Sharma was was arrested without incident and booked into the Santa Rita Jail on two counts of reckless driving and disobeying Peace Officers. The Tesla was towed from the scene for evidence and this incident remains under investigation.
Sharma is speaking out after his arrest.
He said that the car was on full-self driving mode while he was riding through the Bay. There was so much traffic ahead of him, he enabled the self-driving mode and his Tesla followed the car in front of him.
Sharma thinks that it should not be considered illegal.
“That’s the thing. I don’t think that should be illegal because the way the car is driving is very safe,” he said. “So as long as the car is safely operating, it doesn’t matter what seat you’re sitting in.”
Nick Josefowitz, chief policy officer at SPUR, thinks otherwise.
Tesla’s website states that the vehicles “are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment.”