Self-Driving Car DUIs: Who Is Liable When Your Tesla Is in Autopilot in San Bernardino?

Autopilot was engaged. The car was steering itself. You were barely touching the wheel. And somehow, you still ended up in handcuffs on the side of the 10 Freeway.

This scenario is no longer hypothetical for drivers in Redlands and across San Bernardino County. As Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features become more common on local roads, so do the legal questions that follow. Can you get a DUI in a self-driving car? Who is actually responsible when the vehicle is doing the driving? California law has no definitive appellate ruling yet specifically on Autopilot/FSD “driving”, and they may not be what you expect.

Can You Get a DUI in California While Using Autopilot?

Yes. Current California law and practice treat Autopilot vehicles the same as conventional vehicles; you’re presumed to be driving while behind the wheel.

Under California Vehicle Code Section 23152, it is unlawful to drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The word “drive” is the critical issue here. California courts have interpreted “driving” broadly. In *Mercer v. DMV* (1991), the California Supreme Court held that a person exercises “volitional movement” of a vehicle when they cause it to move, even slightly.

Tesla’s Autopilot is a driver-assistance system, not a fully autonomous one. Tesla’s own documentation makes this clear: the driver must remain attentive, keep their hands available, and be ready to take control at any moment. That means you are still the legal operator of the vehicle, and if you are impaired, California law still applies to you.

The California DMV and the state legislature have not created a legal exemption for automated driving systems in DUI enforcement. While vehicle regulations govern autonomous technology, current enforcement applies standard DUI laws regardless of driver-assist features.

What Does San Bernardino County Law Enforcement Actually Do?

Law enforcement in San Bernardino County, like elsewhere in California, follows standard DUI procedures.

If you are pulled over on the I-10, Highway 30, or any road in Redlands, an officer who suspects impairment will conduct a standard DUI investigation regardless of whether Autopilot was engaged. That means field sobriety tests, a preliminary alcohol screening device, and likely a request for a blood or breath test under California’s implied consent law, found in Vehicle Code Section 23612.

The fact that Autopilot was running is unlikely to stop the arrest. What it may do is create a legitimate avenue for defense, which is where things get more interesting.

Does Tesla Share Any Liability?

Tesla could share liability in civil cases, but in a criminal DUI prosecution, liability falls on the driver, not the manufacturer.

This distinction matters enormously. In a criminal case, the question is whether you, the driver, were impaired and operating the vehicle. Tesla’s liability is a civil matter, relevant to accident claims and product liability lawsuits, not to whether the San Bernardino County District Attorney can prove you guilty of a DUI.

That said, if Tesla’s Autopilot system malfunctioned, failed to alert you, or behaved in a way that contributed to an incident, that evidence can still be relevant to your DUI defense strategy. Data logs from the vehicle, alerts (or their absence), and system behavior at the time of the stop can all be subpoenaed and examined.

How Can Autopilot Data Actually Help Your Defense?

Tesla vehicles record detailed operational data that may contradict law enforcement’s account of your behavior and strengthen your DUI defense.

Tesla’s onboard systems log steering input, speed, lane position, braking, and whether Autopilot was engaged. If the data shows the vehicle was operating normally and you were not driving erratically, that challenges the officer’s justification for the stop in the first place. Challenging the lawfulness of the stop is a key defense strategy, though courts evaluate all circumstances.

There are several angles worth examining:

• Was the initial traffic stop legally justified, or was the officer acting on an assumption about an Autopilot-engaged vehicle?
• Did the vehicle’s behavior, not your behavior, trigger law enforcement’s attention?
• Were field sobriety tests administered correctly, given that you may have been seated and stationary for an extended period?
• Is the blood or breath test result being challenged on timing, equipment calibration, or administration grounds?

Each of these questions requires aggressive, technical analysis, not a surface-level defense.

What Happens to Your License After an Autopilot DUI Arrest?

California’s Admin Per Se law triggers an automatic DMV suspension process, separate from criminal court, that begins within 10 days of your arrest.

Under Vehicle Code Section 13353.2, your license can be suspended administratively if you tested at or above a 0.08% BAC. You have only 10 days from the date of arrest to request a DMV hearing and challenge that suspension. Miss that window, and the suspension goes into effect automatically. This applies whether Autopilot was on or off.

Why Autopilot DUI Cases Demand Serious Legal Firepower

Self-driving technology has outpaced the law. The legal framework California uses for DUI was written long before Tesla put Autopilot on the market, and that gap creates real opportunities for skilled defense attorneys who understand both the technology and the statutes.

At Patrick Silva, Attorneys at Law, we have built a reputation for being more deeply educated in DUI defense than most firms in the Inland Empire. We have won a significant number of cases across San Bernardino County, including complex cases with far-from-simple facts.

If you were arrested for a DUI while Autopilot was engaged, do not treat this like a routine case. Call us at 909-500-4819 or contact us to build an aggressive defense strategy tailored to your specific facts, vehicle data, and every legal angle available to you.