A demonstration of an alleged self-driving car in Pakistan took an unexpected and rather embarrassing turn when the vehicle veered off course and crashed into a parked police van.
The incident, involving Pakistani journalist Muhammad Aalijah, has since attracted widespread attention online after a video of the demonstration began circulating on X.
‘No shortage of talent in Pakistan’
In the video, Aalijah can be seen sitting in the passenger seat while the vehicle moves along a road without anyone apparently sitting behind the steering wheel.
As he addresses the camera, the journalist presents the vehicle as an example of automated-driving technology, appearing confident that the car is successfully navigating the road on its own.
“As you can tell, there's no shortage of talent in Pakistan,” he confidently said.
For several seconds, everything seems to be going according to plan. The car maintains its movement along the road while Aalijah remains in the passenger seat, allowing the demonstration to continue without an obvious driver intervention.
But the impressive-looking showcase quickly became a crash test of a very different kind.
Car suddenly heads for Police van
Without warning, the steering wheel turns toward the side of the road. Rather than correcting its path, the vehicle continues toward a parked police van.
The car eventually slams into the stationary police vehicle, ending the demonstration almost as quickly as it had begun.
The unexpected collision gave the video an ironic twist, particularly because it happened shortly after Aalijah's confident remarks about Pakistan's technological talent.
Aalijah blames internet disruption
Aalijah later explained the incident to Dawn, saying he had been asked by Abbottabad-based technology enthusiast Ehsan Zafar to report on his automated-driving project.
According to Aalijah, the vehicle had been functioning normally before a technical problem affected the demonstration.
“Everything was fine until a technical fault occurred due to an internet disruption, causing the car to go out of control and crash into a police vehicle,” he said.
His explanation has added another layer to the online discussion, with viewers debating whether the incident demonstrates the challenges involved in developing reliable autonomous-driving technology.
Ranvir Shorey adds to the irony
The clip received another boost after Indian actor Ranvir Shorey shared it on X.
Shorey appeared to poke fun at the mishap, writing: “Presenting Pakistan’s answer to the self driving Tesla: The Masla.”
The word “masla,” which means “problem” in Urdu and Hindi, quickly became the punchline of the incident.
While Tesla has become closely associated with advanced driver-assistance and automated-driving features, the vehicle shown in the viral clip clearly did not deliver the smooth demonstration its presenter had hoped for.
Social media reacts to the unusual crash
As the footage spread, social media users turned the viral video into a series of hilarious memes.
Some commenters imagined the reaction of the police officer upon finding that the vehicle had apparently been moving without a person behind the wheel.
Others took a less mocking approach, pointing out that technology experiments can fail and arguing that young innovators should not necessarily be discouraged because a public demonstration went wrong.
