Ford CEO Gives Teen ‘Experience of a Lifetime’ on Racetrack, But Teen Dies from Cancer Months Later, Dad Says

The CEO of Ford Motors gave a teenager the “experience of a lifetime” with his father earlier this year, but the child passed away from cancer.

Joe Tegerdine announced on X (previously Twitter) on Friday, Nov. 22, that his teenage son Joseph was “no longer suffering” following his last breath that morning.

Joe praised people who have supported him over the years and reflected on the “privilege [of] being his father” in a memorial post on the site.

“Words cannot express the depth of grief that he has moved on, nor the tremendous joy that he is no longer suffering,” Joe said. “I’m excited for the day when we can play, run, and leap together once more. I appreciate all of the love and support we received from the 𝕏 community.”

“Your generosity made his life a little easier and more fun. Your love and concern made a huge difference,” he added.

Among those who made a difference in Joseph’s life, his father wrote, was Ford CEO Jim Farley, who gave the teen an “experience of a lifetime” when he invited him to experience a Ford Mustang Dark Horse on the track at the Ford Performance Racing School in Charlotte, N.C., back in March. The pair, who traveled from Utah, took him up on the offer in April. READ MORE