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Tesla self-driving feature reportedly saves the life of a man by driving him to hospital

Tesla self-driving feature reportedly saves the life of a man by driving him to hospital

The man posted about his experience on X - and has been singing Elon Musk's praises.

An American man claims his Tesla autonomously drove him 13 miles to the emergency room after he suffered a heart attack.

Virginia-based producer MaxPaul Franklin posted about his experience on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling it his "crazy true story".

Franklin wrote that in the early hours of April 2 he suffered a mild heart attack.

Franklin said he was severely dehydrated and had high glucose levels due to a malfunction in his insulin pump.

"With no time to spare, I turned to my Model Y for assistance. Engaging the new Full Self-Driving feature with a simple double click on the steering column stalk, I was astounded by the results," Franklin recounted.

"Without any intervention, the car skillfully navigated the 13-mile journey from my home to the VA Emergency Room, offering to autonomously park it upon arrival and let me seek immediate medical attention."

As you can probably imagine, Franklin is singing Tesla's praises after his ordeal.

"I can unequivocally declare Tesla the pinnacle of automotive innovation today," he wrote.

"Its lifesaving capabilities in critical moments underscore its superiority. The leap from traditional vehicles to Tesla's Full Self-Driving functionality is like upgrading from a basic phone to a smartphone."

Full Self-Driving is the most advanced autonomous mode that Tesla currently offers, levels up from the Autopilot mode first offered in 2014. As of April 12, you could subscribe to it for $99 a month in the US.

But it's not quite like the science fiction movies just yet - while the eventual goal is for cars to be able to drive themselves, at the moment drivers should still stay alert when using the feature, ready to take the wheel should they need to.

Tesla says: 'The currently enabled Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous. Full autonomy will be dependent on achieving reliability far in excess of human drivers as demonstrated by billions of miles of experience, as well as regulatory approval, which may take longer in some jurisdictions.

'As Tesla’s Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving capabilities evolve, your vehicle will be continuously upgraded through over-the-air software updates.'

That being said, Franklin certainly seems happy with the technology, and wrote on X that he was "particularly appreciative" of Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk's "commitment to excellence and innovation".

He said: "He has profoundly impacted our world and personally impacted my own."

And Musk himself has seen the story, reposting it with a message to Franklin: "Glad Tesla FSD was there to help and that you’re feeling well!"

Featured Image Credit: @MAXPAULFRANKLIN/X