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Anti-Tesla protesters swarm Giga Berlin-Brandenburg, injuries and arrests reported
Tensions flared on Friday as environmental activists attempted to breach the grounds of Tesla Giga Berlin-Brandenburg in Grünheide, Germany. The protest, which is reportedly being conducted as a form of opposition against the planned expansion of the facility, resulted in a confrontation with police, as well as several injuries and arrests.
The anti-Tesla group made some headway in their attempts to break into Giga Berlin-Brandenburg’s premises, particularly when they overcame wildlife fences and police barriers. Police spokesperson Maik Kettlitz informed rbb24 that the protesters were repelled by the police. Authorities were also on-site in Giga Berlin with water cannons and a clearing tank.
Rund 800 Aktivist:innen befinden sich auf dem Tesla Werksgelände!#disrupttelsa #stoptesla pic.twitter.com/pSzFdkNzxj— Disrupt (@disrupt__now) May 10, 2024
Injuries were reported on both sides, including one protestor and three police officers. Authorities have noted that several arrests have been made in connection with the anti-Tesla protests. Demonstrators have criticized the arrests as “repression.” They also claimed that there was “massive police violence.”
Die Ästhetik des Widerstands #stoptesla #disrupttesla pic.twitter.com/SQfXbwc0la— FaggotsForFuture ✊?✊ (@RealTadzioM) May 10, 2024
Anti-Tesla group Disrupt Alliance claimed that around 800 activists participated in the demonstration, and the protest size exceeded 1,000 people. Videos posted online showed large numbers of activists running towards Giga Berlin-Brandenburg, and photos posted by activists revealed that some Model Y crossovers had been vandalized by the demonstrators.
Aktivist:innen haben Tesla markiert.#disrupttesla pic.twitter.com/0QSzM5TRBG— Disrupt (@disrupt__now) May 10, 2024
Despite the demonstrators seemingly failing in their attempts to breach Giga Berlin-Brandenburg, the protests caused significant disruption to the area nonetheless. The nearby Freienbrink motorway exit and surrounding streets were closed, and rail service between Berlin and Frankfurt (Oder) was temporarily halted. Service reportedly resumed by mid-afternoon, however.
Auf dem Weg zur Tesla-Fabrik durchbricht der »blaue Block« auf einem Feld die Polizeisperren. #stoptesla #disrupttesla #tesla pic.twitter.com/GGNVvhnfi9— junge Welt (@jungewelt) May 10, 2024
Anti-Tesla groups have been calling for days of action against the electric vehicle maker, though it is no secret that efforts against the company are nothing new. Activists have been camped out in a forest near the factory since February, occupying tree houses in protest of the deforestation that Giga Berlin-Brandenburg’s expansion is expected to cause. The activists also argued that the region would be “sold out to Tesla.” “Our livelihoods are not for sale,” the group noted.
Was den Protest heute ausgezeichnet hat, ist wieder der Wille und der Mut entschlossen für Veränderung zu kämpfen.#DisruptTesla pic.twitter.com/IShr89nd5v— Disrupt (@disrupt__now) May 10, 2024
The protests weren’t limited to Grünheide. A separate demonstration targeting Tesla’s presence took place at the Mall of Berlin shopping center, where activists criticized the idea of electric cars being clean vehicles. Tesla, for its part, noted that the protests did not have a large impact on its operations, especially considering Giga Berlin-Brandenburg’s short-term vehicle production halt on Friday, which had been scheduled since January.
This is fake news.
Protesters did not manage to break through the fenceline. There are still 2 intact fence lines all around.
Note, this is “National Protest Week” in Germany, so there are a lot of protests for many different reasons.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 10, 2024
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has posted a comment about the protests. As per Musk, Giga Berlin has not been breached by protesters, and he also noted that at this time, there are typically numerous protests in Germany. “Protesters did not manage to break through the fenceline. There are still 2 intact fence lines all around. Note, this is ‘National Protest Week’ in Germany, so there are a lot of protests for many different reasons,” Musk wrote.
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Tesla has officially revealed its 2026 Summer Update, which comes with a variety of crazy new features, including Navigation fixes that owners have been wanting for months.
Tesla routinely releases a larger update with the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter updates, where it ships a variety of new features, bug fixes, and other additions to customer cars.
The 2026 Spring Update featured things like “Hey Grok” voice assistance, a redesigned self-driving app, Unreal Engine visual upgrades, and more.
🚨 TESLA’S SUMMER UPDATE FOR 2026 IS HERE:
Featuring:
✅ Self-Driving Stats in Mobile App
✅ Caraoke with Scoring
✅ Automatic Navigation
✅ Preferred Routes
✅ Set Arrival Energy from Mobile App
✅ Send Custom Wraps from Mobile App
✅ Rear Display Lock
✅ Other Improvements
🔌… https://t.co/C9IW3egEhH
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 21, 2026
Tesla’s Summer Release has about ten new features; we’ll show you each and detail them below:
New Grok Voice Commands
“Grok can now make phone calls, search and play music, adjust climate, open the glovebox, and answer questions about your Tesla.”
Self-Driving Stats in Mobile App
“View and share self-driving stats from the mobile app.”
Caraoke With Scoring
“Caraoke now scores your singing while in Park. High scores are saved to your Tesla profile.”
Automatic Navigation
“Automatic Navigation now adapts to your routine.
In addition to Home, Work, and upcoming calendar events, your vehicle can now suggest and route to places you visit regularly – like a school drop-off on the way to work, or the gym on the way home.”
Preferred Routes
“For a more personalized experience, navigation now prioritizes routes that you’ve taken before”
Set Arrival Energy from Mobile App
“Set your desired Arrival Energy from your phone.”
Send Custom Wraps from Mobile App
“Skip the USB drive and upload a custom wrap of your car from the mobile app. Instructions for creating a custom wrap here: https://github.com/teslamotors/custom-wraps.”
Rear Display Lock
“Kids can watch content on the rear screen, but only the front row can control it through the rear screen app.”
Other Improvements
- Find Superchargers by name when searching for a destination
- Add Apple Music songs to queue from search and artist page
- Set your preferred zoom level for the Self-Driving visualization
- Intro animations for new Model 3 and Y
Tesla’s reason for Starlink integration on Cybercab might surprise you, as the company’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, finally shed some light on the reason they are putting a satellite internet terminal on its ride-hailing-geared vehicle.
On Monday, Tesla officially confirmed that it would integrate Starlink V5 terminals into Cybercab vehicles, something many Tesla fans had figured the company would do, as the vehicle is primarily geared toward giving rides without any passenger intervention.
Starlink V5 directly integrated in Cybercab pic.twitter.com/FxzTtzjB6I
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 20, 2026
The ability to access the internet would allow riders to work or play in the car with their devices. It seemed like a more-than-reasonable feature to add to the Cybercab, which made its way off the production lines for the first time earlier this year.
Tesla reveals first vehicle model to receive Starlink integration
However, the move is not for the rider, as Elluswamy confirmed on Monday night. Instead, it’s actually for Tesla to be able to have a constant connection to the cars in the Robotaxi fleet so it can troubleshoot issues, contact riders, or resolve other issues.
Elluswamy said:
“It is still not required for safe operation of the vehicle. Connectivity is primarily meant for navigation, customer service and, in general, fleet management.”
It is still not required for safe operation of the vehicle. Connectivity is primarily meant for navigation, customer service and, in general, fleet management.
— Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy) July 20, 2026
Many initially assumed the option of constant connectivity would be enabled on the Cybercab for passenger entertainment or work. With the Cybercab, passengers won’t be doing anything but enjoying the ride, so it seemed more than logical that they would be hanging out with Starlink internet access as an amenity.
However, Tesla’s primary concern with Robotaxi is safety, and nailing these first unsupervised rides is a crucial step to setting a good narrative on how effective driverless transportation can be.
Being able to get in touch with passengers or a vehicle if something is wrong is a crucial part of the overall experience, and preventative measures are being taken by Tesla to ensure a smooth process, even in the worst-case.
Tesla has expanded its Robotaxi program in Florida to include two new cities: Tampa and Orlando.
This marks the second and third cities to be added to the company’s available locations for autonomous ride-hailing in the Sunshine State, joining Miami, which was the first Florida city to offer Robotaxi rides.
Tesla announced the addition of Orlando and Tampa to the Robotaxi program on Tuesday morning. The cities now join Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, and the San Francisco Bay Area as locations where Tesla can operate its Robotaxi platform:
Robotaxi now in Tampa & Orlando! pic.twitter.com/fYtmXgJq3O
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) July 21, 2026
These rides are unsupervised, as AI Head Ashok Elluswamy confirmed the suite in Florida is operating without safety drivers or anyone within the cabin to assist with operation.
Orlando Tesla Robotaxi Operation
The geofence in Orlando covers a prominent irregular shaded zone on the map, roughly 4-6 miles across in key dimensions, so it likely measures somewhere between 25 and 45 square miles, which is comparable to other early Tesla launches in other cities.
It encompasses central and southern areas bounded by major highways including SR-417 and SR-528, including parts of the Orlando metro core, tourism-adjacent zones, and residential/commercial districts. This represents an initial targeted rollout in a tourist-heavy region, positioned for quick expansion via Tesla’s software updates.
Tampa Tesla Robotaxi Operation
In Tampa, the shape of the geofence is a shaded polygon covering key neighborhoods, explicitly including West Tampa, Tampa Heights, Hyde Park, and downtown Tampa proper, with boundaries along major roads and the Hillsborough River area.
This focuses on high-demand central zones and will offer tourists and citygoers rides without drivers.
Robotaxi Progress
Tesla has been operating Robotaxi since last June, when it launched in Austin. The geofences in most regions have already expanded several times since their launch last year, but the bigger complaint is vehicle availability. Tesla has been working to add more Robotaxi-enabled vehicles to its fleet.
The company still plans to utilize its Cybercab, a new vehicle that is being produced at Gigafactory Texas, for the Robotaxi suite alongside the Model Y, which has been the vehicle of choice for Tesla with early operations.
Tesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more
Tesla’s reason for Starlink integration on Cybercab might surprise you
