Posted on 05/27/2026 10:49:21 AM PDT by fidelis
The Florida Highway Patrol said the crash happened when a 87-year-old was driving a Tesla Model Y SUV while it was in autopilot.
PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — An 87-year-old Florida man is dead after his Tesla, which was in autopilot mode, went off the road and into pond, according to the Florida Highway Patrol, WTSP reports.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the Wesley Chapel man was driving a Tesla Model Y SUV around 8 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday on Overpass Road in Pasco County while it was in autopilot.
At some point, the Tesla went off the road, hit an electrical box and continued until submerging into a pond, troopers said.
The man was taken to the hospital, where he later died from his injuries. His passenger, a 75-year-old woman, suffered injuries not considered life-threatening.
It's not known exactly what caused the crash.
The names of the driver and passenger have yet to be released.
If it was on “autopilot” then the 87 year old wasn’t driving it, by definition.
It’s really weird these days, that the very people who ostensibly make their living with words, are so very bad at this.
Put another way, he was a passenger or occupant. Nothing more.
Sorry, too soon?
Spot on. My first thought as well.
How does auto pilot work, do you say “take me to Lake Michigan”?
There was a lot of rain yesterday, that might have contributed
It would have been more accurate to say he was sitting in the left front seat. He may have been in the “driver’s seat but he was not driving.
‘Navigate to Lake Michigan’
Sounds suspiciously like a deliberate act... 87 year old people can’t get life insurance... So... Why not kill yourself in a Tesla and leave your kids some of that inheritance you blew on the now worthless Winnebago you bought.
“If it was on “autopilot” then the 87 year old wasn’t driving it, by definition.”
Tesla autopilot is not fully autonomous.
Your definition would mean that there are thousands on the road not driving their Fords, Chevy’s, etc.
Good thing he stayed inside or the alligators would have gotten him.
Autopilot is not the same as Full Self Driving mode. It’s more of a cruise control with lane assist. That said ... was he on autopilot or FSD?
That’s how I want to go, quietly in my sleep, unlike my screaming passengers.
I am 86 and trust my driving 100 times more than all the combinations of sensors, activators and electronic components in any self driving autopilot car.
Maybe he thought is was just an oversized electric golf cart?
Maybe she was in his lap!
Autopilot is a computer program. It, like AI, has no awareness and no idea what it’s doing. And we entrust our lives to them.
I dropped house insurance, car insurance, so saving about $2000 every year. Should have done it long ago. Insurance is the biggest scam rip off going on. I never had any claims from house insurance and never had any car accidents from age 20 when I learned to drive until current age 86. Florida is a great state, I can self insure for car liability by showing evidence of $40k market value assets. Most states force you to buy liability insurance.
Don’t think Lake Michigan has gators. The lake freezes in winters. Gators can’t hibernate for 6 months like the bears can.
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