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Tesla driver caught SLEEPING behind wheel while driving on autopilot down Las Vegas highway

The idiotic driver was filmed without his hands on the wheel

A MAN has been caught sleeping behind the wheel in a Tesla Model X car while driving on Autopilot.

He was filmed by a neighbouring driver as they cruised down a road in Las Vegas, USA.

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A man was filmed sleeping in his car while driving a Tesla on autopilot

The drivers hands aren't visible on the wheel and his head can be tipped back on the headrest with his eyes closed.

A video of the shocking driving was posted to Jalopnik, a motoring site.

On Tesla's site it says its vehicles have the "hardware needed for full self-driving capability" and offer an "Enhanced Autopilot" for $5,000.

This extra allows the car to "match speed to traffic conditions, keep within a lane, automatically change lanes without requiring driver input, transition from one freeway to another, and exit the freeway when your destination is near".

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AUTOPILOT SAFETY ISSUES

It claims the system can even "self-park when near a parking spot and be summoned to and from your garage".

But with the "Full Self-Driving" packing Tesla cars can literally drive themselves - and it'll only set you back an additional $3,000.

Choosing the self-driving package doesn't guarantee safety, though.

In 2016 a man from Ohio was killed when his Tesla hit a truck while in Autopilot mode.

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'LACK OF SUFFICIENT SYSTEM CONTROLS'

The National Transportation Safety Board ruled that Tesla's "lack of sufficient system controls" was partially to blame.

The company has since placed tighter restrictions on how long drivers are allowed to take their hands off the wheel, with beeps sounding after a while as a warning.

If the beeps are ineffective the car will automatically come to a stop and put its hazard lights on.

But despite these safety measures, there have been more problems recently.

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Last month a man was spotted sleeping in his Tesla car at 70mph by California Highway Patrol troopers.

The officers had to pull in front of the car and start slowing down so that the car would eventually slow itself down as well, according to .

Sneaky drivers have also figured out how to play the system by tricking the wheel into thinking they're holding it, using a water bottle or an orange wedge.

A 2017 Tesla Model 3, a vehicle that has a semiautonomous driving system called AutopilotCredit: AP:Associated Press
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