Tesla Model X Autopilot Saves 8 Lives During Storm Dennis; Owners Thank Elon Musk

In a miraculous escape, the autopilot function of two Tesla cars saved the occupants from being crushed under a tree in the southern part of the UK. Both the families were driving Tesla Model X cars and had the autopilot feature enabled. As the 400-year-old oak tree was about to fall on the road, the autopilot got activated and pulled on the emergency brakes. The safety feature saved the lives of eight people, Mirror UK reported. The tree fell on the highway—A31, under the impact of Storm Dennis that ravaged many places in and around the United Kingdom last week.

While a family of five was travelling in one Tesla Model X, the other had three passengers. Laurence Sanderson, who was driving his wife and three children to Dorset, spoke Mirror and termed their survival a “miracle”. He added that they would have been “crushed” to death if not for the emergency brake, as he wouldn't have been able to “react in time”. His wife Anna suffered minor injuries. The other family members escaped more or less “unscathed”.

Josh Whitelock was driving the other car with his girlfriend Katie and her mother. Both the owners of the Tesla cars consider their lives indebted to their £86,000 cars, the report added. Katie tagged Tesla CEO extending her gratitude. Soon, Musk replied to the tweet with a heart emoticon and commented that he was glad that everyone was ok.