A Tesla driver learned the hard way that yes, you still need to keep your hands on the wheel in a Tesla and yes, you really aren’t allowed to smuggle drugs.
First spotted by Road & Track, the incident happened in Wilson’s Mills, North Carolina around 4 p.m. on August 23. According to local authorities, they received reports of a driver who “appeared to be asleep behind the wheel of a white Tesla” that was heading west on US-70. Police eventually caught up with the car and discovered that the driver was indeed asleep behind the wheel of a Model 3 on Autopilot. After following for a mile and trying to get the driver to wake up, an officer eventually positioned his cruiser in front of the car to help bring it to a stop. That’s when things got real.
The officer was finally able to wake the driver — a man identified as Michael Goodman — and then perform a field sobriety test. For whatever reason, Goodman gave consent for his car to be searched. That’s when officers allegedly found a goldmine of illegal drugs and substances. From North Carolina’s CBS 17:
During the search, officers found several dozen boxes of “vape pens” that contained various illegal substances, including 200 grams worth of THC (marijuana), 400 grams of methamphetamine and 400 grams of MDMA (ecstasy), according to police.
Police say the total street value of what they allegedly found in the Model 3 was over $100,000. This Goodman fellow has to be the world’s worst trafficker. Why consent to a search knowing you’re carrying all that?
Goodman is now charged with everything from trafficking to reckless driving. He was taken to a local detention center before being released on a $50,000 bond. Wilson’s Mills Police Chief A.Z. Williams called the arrest something new. “I’ve been in this business for a long time and you think you’ve seen it all,” he told CBS 17.
