One of the indignities of old age is about to fade into oblivion.
I learned this in an HEB parking lot on the day before Christmas. As anyone who lives in Texas knows, the parking lots for HEB supermarkets are huge. And crowded. Cars prowl; people of all ages push carts. Mothers herd children. Everyone has Other-things-to-do.
I found the last items I needed to cook a Christmas prime rib dinner for eight and returned to my car, a 2024 Tesla Model Y. This time, I engaged Full Self Drive.
The car backed out of its parking spot. Then it turned into its lane, avoided people on both sides of the lane, and slowly went to the end of the lane. Then it turned right and followed the lane out of the parking lot. It stopped, right turn signal blinking. It turned right and wove its way to the left turn lane. It stopped again, turn signal blinking. It turned left onto Highway 290 and drove the 18 miles home.
Without incident.
Arriving at our driveway, it signaled right, turned and made its way toward our garage, stopping outside.
I didn’t touch the steering wheel. I sat with my knees comfortably bent, feet on the floor, happily watching the car adjust speed and change lanes on the trip home.
The next day I added Grok, the talking AI interface that allows me to ask for navigation and get answers to related travel questions. Now I can have conversations with ARA, the traveling companion for FSD. I enjoy her sparky attitude and sense of humor.
I’ve also used FSD for the drive to and from downtown Austin. FSD even passed the extreme test of going through the construction at the infamous Y without blinking a proverbial eye. (Readers blessed without experience of the Y should know that it is an enormous, perpetual construction project that is miles long with paths that appear to change constantly. There are rumors it will be completed someday.)
On another trip, I had FSD drive from our home to the Uptown restaurant in Blanco. Unlike the Redbud Café, it’s seldom busy at midday. My friend and I enjoyed a leisurely lunch at one of the only spots with tablecloths and napkins. Blanco is an 18-mile drive. FSD navigated the many changes of three-lane Texas country highways easily.
A road trip beckons.
More important, I now have a driver. This is not something I’ve coveted since childhood. I learned to drive at 16 in an old army surplus jeep while doing odd jobs at a small airport with dirt runways. I’ve always loved driving.
Having a chauffeur, even a digital one, never made the cut for my Life Aspirations. But I’m 85 and, like everyone else, enjoy my personal freedom to come and go.
By car.
Last month I learned that my 100-year-old friend in Florida can still drive – but he must be re-examined every six months. Elsewhere I hear regular conversations about who is still driving but shouldn’t be.
The leap here is huge. But start to imagine this as a “problem solved.” Full Self Driving will, in due course, liberate millions of seniors and the indentured adult children who are driving them around, doing errands and getting to medical appointments. It’s going to be hard to hate old Elon when that happens.
But now, after years of hype, it’s here. Full Self Driving IS revolutionary. In the very nicest way.
Skeptical? Don’t rely on me. Check the booming number of YouTube videos demonstrating FSD. Search “FSD driving for senior citizens” and see how much it means to old folks.
Better still, the long-term benefits of FSD go well beyond personal freedom and independence. Here are just a few:
- Motor vehicle deaths. Accidents are the third largest cause of death in the United States. And deaths from motor vehicle accidents are the third largest cause of accidental deaths. In 2023, 44,762 people lost their lives in motor vehicle accidents. FSD will reduce the loss of life.
- Motor vehicle accident injuries. A 2014 study for the CDC showed that for every person killed in a crash, eight were hospitalized, and 100 were treated and released after emergency treatment. The study estimated that the lifetime cost of crash injuries was 50 percent greater than the cost of treating HIV in the U.S. FSD will reduce the number of people injured in accidents.
- Motor vehicle insurance. According to the Journal of Consumer Affairs, the U.S. auto insurance industry was a $353 billion market in 2023. It’s also growing faster than our economy, and the cost is a persistent cause of inflation in our consumer price index.
These figures just touch the surface. Sadly, with GM, Ford and Chrysler in retreat from electric vehicles, it’s easier to imagine a future of rising inflationary costs for transportation than to imagine a New Age of cost efficiency for consumers that would also bring a new age of freedom for senior citizens.
But hope springs eternal. With Full Self Driving, hope is renewed by the mile.
Related columns:
Scott Burns, “Lessons from a 100th Birthday,” 12/21/2025: https://scottburns.com/lessons-from-a-100th-birthday/
Scott Burns, “My Horrifying $137.85 Tesla Maintenance Bill,” 11/2/2025: https://scottburns.com/my-horrifying-137-85-tesla-maintenance-bill/
Scott Burns, “Shocking News! I’ve Gone Tesla,” 1/12/2025: https://scottburns.com/shocking-news-ive-gone-tesla/
Scott Burns, “How a Rogue Toyota Dealer Became a Marketing Agent for Tesla,” 5/21/2023: https://scottburns.com/how-a-rogue-toyota-dealer-became-a-marketing-agent-for-tesla/
Sources and References:
Uptown restaurant in Blanco, TX: https://www.facebook.com/UptownBlancoRestaurant/
Redbud Café in Blanco, TX: https://redbudcafetx.com
CDC study cited: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6340a4.htm
Journal of Consumer Affairs cited: https://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/car-insurance-industry-statistics.html
Grok: https://grok.com
This information is distributed for education purposes, and it is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, recommendation, or endorsement of any particular security, product, or service.
Photo: Scott Burns, 01/02/26, FSD on the way from downtown Johnson City to home.
(c) Scott Burns, 2026