Elon Musk Believes Pop Singer Justin Timberlake Could Have Avoided DWI Charges Had He Been Driving A Tesla And Not BMW

Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk joined Justin Timberlake‘s intoxicated driving discussion by saying the pop singer would not have been arrested had he been driving a Tesla car with its driver assistance features enabled and not a BMW.

What Happened: Timberlake was arrested in Sag Harbor, New York, for intoxicated driving on June 18 after he ran through a stop sign and failed to maintain his lane, Reuters reported.

The pop singer, with popular tracks including “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” and “Mirrors,” was arraigned in Sag Harbor Village Justice Court and released. He was reportedly driving a 2025 gray BMW.

Timberlake is scheduled to perform at Madison Square Garden in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday before moving on to Boston as part of his “The Forget Tomorrow World Tour.”

Following the report, Tesla enthusiast Omar Qazi, who goes by the username Whole Mars Catalog, took to X to say that a Tesla would not have let the singer run a stop sign or a red light, thereby helping him avoid charges. Musk agreed with the user with a short, “True.”

Why It Matters: Tesla’s full self-driving (FSD) advanced driver assistance technology is aimed at enabling vehicle autonomy in due time. However, it currently requires active supervision with the driver keeping their hands on the steering wheel and watching the surroundings including other road users.

Contrary to Musk’s opinion, Tesla, in its owners’ manual, recommends drivers to “never make assumptions” when and where the technology will stop or continue through an intersection or road marking.

“In rare cases, Full Self-Driving (Supervised) may not appropriately slow down, come to a stop, or resume control for a stop sign or traffic light. You may assist the system by lightly applying the accelerator, or can override Full Self-Driving (Supervised) at any time,” it warns.

Musk, however, has previously been known to overestimate the capabilities of his companies’ products and has himself admitted to being “pathologically optimistic.”

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