A Tesla driver who tested his car’s self-drive technology on the Magic Roundabout was breaking the law, police said.

A YouTuber put his electric car’s on-board computer to the test at 5am on a Sunday morning, seeing if its autopilot could handle Swindon’s infamous mega-roundabout.

The owner of the Tesla Driver channel admitted the self-drive technology was not made for roundabouts. And he was proved right, with the computer aborting on the first and second attempts.

You can read our story about the video here.

Police warning

Now, Wiltshire Police has said the driver may have been breaking the law.

“The development of self-drive cars appears to be accelerating and no doubt will be part of our world in the future, perhaps very soon,” a spokesman told the BBC.

“In the meantime, the UK’s current legislation does not allow for their use on public roads.

“The driver in the YouTube video is breaking the law when he allows the car to take control as he is not in proper control of his vehicle and, if stopped by officers, would be asked to attend court.

“To put this into context, though, we accept he was doing this at 5am on a Sunday and the roads were very quiet. However, he was still breaking the law when allowing the car to effectively take over.”