FSD v12 may have driven its owner 13 miles to a VA emergency room

AI system

System

Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v12 on a Tesla Model Y

Model

Not assessed

Release

Full Self-Driving v12. The exact installed build is not established.

Application developer

Tesla

Role

Franklin reported that the system drove his car to an emergency department.

Configuration

Franklin reported using Full Self-Driving v12 (Supervised), which was enabled on the car on 1 April 2024.

Editor’s note. Franklin identified FSD v12, but not the exact build. The Driven described 12.3.3 as the release available at that time, which does not establish the build installed in his car.

Inputs and outputs

Not assessed

Autonomy

Not assessed

Workflow

A Tesla Model Y with the FSD (Supervised) v12 trial active, which Franklin says Tesla had unlocked for all US cars on 1 April 2024. A driver who, by his account, could still reach the car, engage FSD by double-clicking the stalk and set the emergency room as destination. A 13-mile route to the VA emergency room that the system, on his account, completed without intervention and then offered to park.

Human oversight

Not assessed

Relation to AI

The only description of what FSD did is Franklin's. Engaged by a double click of the stalk, it drove 13 miles to the VA emergency room without intervention and offered to park on arrival. No Tesla vehicle data, dashcam footage, hospital record, emergency-service log or official statement has been found. No outlet reports having interviewed him or the hospital. Tesla's corporate account and Elon Musk reposted the story on 11 April 2024 but added no facts. The photos attached to the post are two hospital-bed selfies and a night shot of a Model Y in a wet car park. They show no route, timestamp or hospital name. Some syndicated coverage garbles the story (Sky TG24 places him in Virginia and describes low blood sugar). The counterfactual, calling emergency services, driving himself or not reaching care, is unexamined. Commenters cited by Il Fatto Quotidiano argued he should have called for help.

AI contribution

Franklin reported that Tesla Full Self-Driving drove him 13 miles to an emergency department without intervention and offered to park on arrival.

Benefits

Outcome identifiers: Not assessed
Benefit: drove Max Paul Franklin 13 miles to a VA emergency room
Category: Improved Physical Health
Status: Not assessed
Beneficiary groups: People.
Beneficiaries: Not assessed
Reach: Not assessed
Distribution and access: Not assessed
Duration: Not assessed
Expected?: Yes
Costs and harms: Not assessed

Measurement

Studies: Not assessed
Study design: Not assessed
Measurement: Not assessed
Setting and sample: Not assessed
Measures: drove Max Paul Franklin 13 miles to a VA emergency room
Comparison: Not assessed
Results: drove Max Paul Franklin 13 miles to a VA emergency room
Additional value from AI: Not assessed
Limitations: The account has no supporting vehicle logs, route footage, hospital record, or interview with the hospital. Tesla and Elon Musk reposted it without adding evidence. The effect of using an alternative means of reaching care was not examined.
Denominators: Not assessed
Materials for replication: Not assessed

Money

Kind of value: Not assessed
Amount: Not assessed
Currency and prices: Not assessed
Period and unit: Not assessed
Realization: Not assessed
Recipients and payers: Not assessed
Gross or net: Not assessed
Included costs: Not assessed
Comparison: Not assessed
Method: Not assessed
Return and payback: Not assessed

People and places

Participants: Developer: Tesla.
Jurisdictions: Benefit: Asheville, United States. Developer: United States.
Ownership and control: Not assessed
Dependencies: Not assessed
Cross-border connections: Not assessed
Geopolitical implications: Not assessed

Follow-up

Conditions for replication: FSD (Supervised) requires an attentive driver with hands on the wheel and eyes on the road (Hindustan Times; Tesla Oracle quoting owner James Locke). A driver too impaired to supervise would be outside its intended use. The account is Franklin's alone. No hospital, emergency-service, police or vehicle-log record of the drive has been found. The photos attached to the post do not show the route, a timestamp or the hospital. Emergency services remain the documented first resort. Il Fatto Quotidiano reports commenters arguing that he should have called for help.
Replication attempts: Not assessed
Later findings: No hospital, Tesla or press verification and no follow-up on Franklin's account was found after the April 2024 reposts.
Availability: Not assessed
Institutional decision: Not assessed
Grounds: Not assessed
Action and result: Not assessed
Success criterion: Not assessed

Evidence

Source numbers: AIBD-0139-source-0001–0006
Citations: Numbered references below.
Language: Not assessed
Source relationships: Beneficiary, Independent
Original evidence: Not assessed
Access and versions: Not assessed
Supported findings: Not assessed
Evidence links: Not assessed
Evidence strength: Not assessed
Missing evidence: Not assessed

Grades

Assessed benefits: People.
Depth: People: 2.
Reasons: People: By his own account Franklin reached a VA emergency room during an insulin-pump failure with blood glucose at 670. He was treated for a mild heart attack and left with no restrictions. No clinician, hospital or official source confirms the emergency, the drive or that his life was at risk. So the life-saving claim in the headlines is not established.
Observed or intended: Not assessed
Rubric: Not assessed
Assessor and date: Not assessed
Alternative assessments: Not assessed
Fill: Independently reported

Entry details

Kind: Not assessed
Related entries: Not assessed
Field: Road transport / access to emergency care. Consumer driver-assistance software on a privately owned vehicle.
Purpose: FSD (Supervised) is built to navigate a Tesla to a chosen destination while an attentive driver supervises it. Driving Franklin to the destination he set is that function. Use by a driver impaired by a medical emergency is not an intended use. Hindustan Times notes the system depends on driver intervention when needed. A Tesla owner quoted by Tesla Oracle calls it a Level 2 system. It requires hands on the wheel and eyes on the road even when active.
Dates: Date basis unassessed: 2024 (precision unassessed). Updated: 21 October 2026.
Stage: Not assessed
Version: SHA-256: 30a7d74ae7f9…

References

Other identifiers: oecd_aim: 2024-04-12-a558.
Category mappings: Not assessed
Brief: Not assessed
Revisions: 6 revisions. Latest: 21 October 2026.

Sources

News report Independent author

Mahapatra, T. D. (2024). Tesla FSD navigated 13-mile journey to Emergency Room to save a man, Elon Musk responds. Hindustan Times, 12 April 2024.
News report Independent author

Bleakley, D. (2024). Autonomous EV saves man: Tesla Model Y drives heart attack victim 20 kms to hospital. The Driven, 12 April 2024.
News report Independent author

Il Fatto Quotidiano (2024). Ha un infarto e crisi glicemica mentre è al volante, la sua Tesla gli salva la vita: "Ha guidato da sola per 20 km fino al pronto soccorso". 14 April 2024.
News report Independent author

Ali, I. (2024). The true story of how FSD V12 helped a Tesla owner reach hospital and saved his life. Tesla Oracle (enthusiast site), 12 April 2024.
News report Independent author

Siasat Daily (2024). Tesla's full self-driving feature saves man's life in US; Musk responds. 12 April 2024 (the source listed by the OECD Monitor).
Other Beneficiary

Franklin, M. P. (2024). My Crazy True Story. Post on X, @MAXPAULFRANKLIN, 10 April 2024 (04:38 UTC), status 1777918962870718909; four photos attached.