Today children on Rose Ward at Royal Brompton Hospital were treated to a very special surprise thanks to The Tesla UK Owners' Club, organised by our Charity.

A mini Tesla model was brought to the hospital for some of our young patients to have their first driving experience. The car will remain on Rose Ward for ongoing use as a unique treat for paediatric inpatients and to provide much-need relief during stays.

The first patient to test drive the car was Idris Lay, who was an absolute natural at steering up and down the corridors. He was incredibly excited and later drove the car from Royal Brompton's reception, back up to Rose Ward. 

A Tesla Model X was also on show in the hospital car park, much to the delight of staff and patients. 

Deryn Harvey of The Tesla UK Owners' Club, who helped make this all possible said:

"We'd seen that the cars had been donated by some private Tesla individuals and they had seen how other hospitals had been using them by having the children drive to the operating theatres. So the children not only drove themselves to the operating theatre but had to navigate their way so it took away any fear and the parents were saying what a difference it made.

We saw the videos and decided we wanted to go national with these. We collected the relevant funds - Elon Musk gave some money, and we shipped them from the United States. We've now got 150 of them across hospital and hospices across the UK."