While much of the press about Tesla has focused on the possible dangers of its beta feature ‘Autopilot’, this story has a rather different view of the feature.
Joshua Neally, a 37-year old lawyer from Springfield was on his way home when he suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his chest. He was experiencing a pulmonary embolism - a blockage of the artery in his lungs.
They’re fatal if untreated immediately and Neally knew that time was of the essence.
It was at that point that he placed his faith in his car.
Using his Model X’s ‘Autopilot’ feature Neally was able to let the car effectively drive itself down the motorway until he was able to turn off and go to his nearest hospital.
He then took control of the car again and managed to drive the few blocks to the hospital.
Speaking to KY3, Neally said: “I just knew I had to get there, to the ER,”
Neally says he’s thankful that Autopilot had been available in the car going on to say that he doesn’t want to imagine what might have happened.
“If something like that happens where I become unconscious or incapacitated while I’m driving, I’m not going to cross over the interstate and slam into somebody or slam into one of the big rock walls,” Neally says.
One of Autopilot’s key safety features is that it requires the driver to put their hands on the wheel every four minutes.
If a driver fails to do this the car will turn on its hazard lights and start to slow down gradually until coming to a safe stop.
Tesla’s Autopilot has been the centre of some controversy after a number of car accidents (some fatal) took place while the feature was turned on.