Man relied on Autopilot to get himself to the hospital

August 11th, 2016  |  Auto

A Missouri man who suffered a pulmonary embolism while driving has his self-driving Model X to thank for his safe arrival at the hospital this week.

Joshua Neally was on his way home from work when he felt the symptoms coming. He knew right away he needed medical attention. However, instead of pulling to the side of the road and calling an ambulance, he took advantage of his Tesla’s ability to drive itself to the closest hospital. According to TechCrunch, he used Autopilot for 20 minutes of highway driving before reaching an exit close to a hospital and taking over the controls for regular traffic himself.

In theory this is exactly how one is supposed to use Autopilot, as it isn’t fully capable of urban driving just yet. While one could say it was a bad move on his part to drive himself to the hospital in his condition it’s important to keep in mind that no one thinks straight. It is, however, good to see that autonomous technology, even in its limited form is already helping to save lives.