A video captured a driver appearing to be asleep while the self-driving Tesla car he was in sped along a busy motorway in Sydney, Australia. The footage, shared on social media, showed the man slouched in the driver’s seat with his eyes closed. Another driver honked and shouted to wake him up, prompting the drowsy driver to suddenly jolt awake and gesture apologetically. The white Tesla, likely in self-driving mode, continued smoothly at the speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour.
Although Tesla introduced its Full Self-Driving software in 2025 for eligible Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, it is not fully autonomous. The system, described as ‘supervised,’ requires the human driver to remain responsible for the vehicle in Australia. In the UK, the government postponed the approval of fully driverless cars, with plans for fully autonomous vehicles by the latter half of 2027.
The Automated Vehicles (AV) Act, effective since May 2024, aimed to advance the UK’s self-driving car goals by establishing a legal structure holding manufacturers accountable for vehicle behavior when in self-driving mode, rather than the human occupant. This legislation was intended to facilitate the introduction of autonomous vehicles.
Safety concerns, particularly in light of incidents with robotaxis in other countries, have led the UK government to delay the deployment of fully driverless cars. Regulatory complexities, such as the need for additional legislation on operational standards and accident liability, must be addressed before fully autonomous vehicles can be legally operated.
Despite claims of technological readiness by companies like Uber and Wayve to deploy driverless taxis immediately, regulatory approvals are necessary before these services can launch. Public trust in driverless technology remains a key challenge, with a significant portion of Britons expressing feeling unsafe in a driverless car, emphasizing the importance of building confidence in autonomous vehicles.