A Tesla owner recounted how the vehicle's Full Self-Driving system transported his wife to the hospital alone after she unexpectedly went into labor. The incident highlights the technology's potential in emergencies. Tesla's AI lead praised the development as making vehicles an essential need.
On November 11, a Tesla owner known as Ikechi shared his experience on the social media platform X. His wife entered labor unpredictably early and had to reach the hospital before he could assist. While experiencing contractions, she relied on the car's Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, which navigated her safely to the destination. 'My wife got into labour unpredictably early and had to get herself to the hospital before I could,' Ikechi posted. He concluded, 'Definitely a great car.'
The story drew responses from Tesla executives. Ashok Elluswamy, vice president of Autopilot and AI software, quoted the post and commented, 'Teslas are trending to become an essential need.' This endorsement underscores the company's vision for autonomous driving in critical situations.
Tesla's FSD technology enables vehicles to handle complex driving tasks without human intervention. The system is part of the automaker's push toward full autonomy, though it remains under scrutiny. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation into 2.88 million Tesla vehicles following reports of traffic violations and accidents involving FSD or Autopilot.
While the owner's account provides a positive anecdote, it occurs amid ongoing regulatory reviews. Tesla continues to refine its AI capabilities, with former AI lead Andrej Karpathy recently praising FSD on newer hardware as 'flawless' and smoother than previous versions.