Tesla CEO Elon Musk's claim that the Autopilot feature can save lives has been proved in a recent story published by Slate. The story reveals how the Autopilot feature on Tesla's Model X SUV helped save the life of its owner --
37-year-old Joshua Neally, a resident of Branson, Missouri - last month.

The Slate's story about Autopilot's life-saving capability comes at a time when the self-driving feature in Tesla's vehicles in under the scanner because of a fatal crash of a Model S car -- in Florida, in May this year -- which caused the death of the car's driver Joshua Brown who was driving in Autopilot mode.

About the incident involving Neally, the Slate story has revealed that, in late July, Neally was driving home from his workplace in Springfield, Missouri, to get to his daughter's fourth birthday celebration. He activated the Autopilot feature when he entered the highway.

Within a few minutes, Neally was in excruciating pain; and he called his wife. They both felt that he should try to reach an emergency room as soon as possible. He allowed the Autopilot to control his SUV over a 20-mile, until he reached an exit ramp close to a hospital where he checked himself into the emergency room.

Neally was diagnosed with a potentially fatal condition called pulmonary embolism; and, after a few hours of treatment, he could drive himself home. Neally is convinced that the Autopilot feature saved his life, because he could continue moving toward the hospital rather than calling 911 and waiting for an ambulance.