Was it a staged stunt or did a driverless Tesla Model 3 Performance with “Smart Summon" activated really get pulled over by California cop for running a red light?

Sounds impossible at first -- if you don't have the full facts at hand.

There's a YouTube video down below of this entire (fantastic?) incident but as an intro, here's what you should know.

Tesla originally designed Smart Summon as a feature that allows a Tesla EV to pick-up its driver at a location guided by the GPS on the driver's smartphone. Now, however, a driver can add a different location for Smart Summon to go to, just as they can with an Uber. Released in late September as part of the V10 update, Smart Summon is currently available as a beta version.

Seeing a driverless Tesla forging ahead can be disconcerting, to say the least. But Tesla announced three important caveats when using Smart Summon.

One, the Tesla EV must be within its driver's line of sight. Two, Smart Summon is only intended for use in private parking lots and driveways -- and not on highways or public roads.

Three, the driver is still responsible for monitoring his Tesla EV and its surroundings at all times within his line of sight because Smart Summon might not detect all the obstacles in its path.

With this in mind, we now proceed to this video showing a driverless Model 3 Performance being pulled over by a cop.

The YouTube video below caught the entire incident but before viewing it, it's wise to know the following:

The Model 3 took part in a test conducted by Drag Times, a car review website by Brooks Weisblat, who also happens to be a Tesla owner. The website carries this disclaimer, "Videos on this channel are for entertainment purposes only and do not necessarily reflect real world performance or scenarios due to video/sound editing, manipulations and special effects."

The Smart Summon test took place in a parking lot, which is in accord with Tesla recommendations. Weisblat can also be seen narrating the driverless Model 3 is on a test. The Model 3 was videoed as it performed three tests.

He hit the Summon button on his phone to test if his white Model 3 (standing all alone in a huge parking lot) could back out of its parking space and head for him.

The parking lot, however, was on the other side of a road and for the Model 3 to get to the target location, it had to cross that road. It did this twice without incident but during the third test, a huge cop SUV can be seen pulling up behind the Tesla.

"That's not good," Weisblat can be heard saying as the patrol car sounds its siren.

"What'd I do?" asks Weisblat. He then says the police officer pulled over the Tesla because it ran a stop sign.

As the camera keeps rolling, a cop exits his patrol car, proceeds to the passenger side -- and sees there's no driver. He then heads over to the driver's side.

You've got to see the rest of this video for yourself to determine if it's the real thing.

Tesla Model 3
This Tesla car may get hacked in Pwn2Own. Pictured: Guests look at a Tesla Model 3 during a ground-breaking ceremony for a Tesla factory in Shanghai on January 7, 2019. - Musk presided over the ground-breaking for a Shanghai factory that will allow the electric-car manufacturer to dodge the China-US tariff crossfire and sell directly to the world's biggest market for 'green' vehicles. Getty Images/AFP/STR
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