Tesla is a company that never takes chances when it comes to vehicle safety. This was proven recently in China, when a new Model Y ended up being rear-ended by a speeding truck.

The crash was frightening, but as per social media accounts in China, the driver of the new Model Y walked away from the incident unharmed.

New Model Y is a Tank

The video, which was shared on X by Tesla enthusiast Aaron Li, featured Teslacam footage from a new Model Y. The all-electric crossover was minding its own business in its lane when a truck, which appeared to be a six-wheeler, approached the Model Y at high speed. Unfortunately, the truck did not seem to slow down, resulting in the vehicle crashing into the new Model Y. The impact was immense, as the six-wheeler could be seen spinning out and hitting another truck that was passing by.

While the truck struck the rear passenger side of the new Model Y at high speed, the all-electric crossover did not even leave its lane. The aftermath of the crash was quite frightening as the rear passenger side of the Model Y was crushed. The vehicle’s cabin, however, seemed to be intact, which likely helped the driver remain safe during the crash. “The new Model Y is very sturdy. A truck struck it from the side-rear at high speed, but the Tesla driver was unharmed,” Li wrote in his X post. 

New Model Y Safety

Just like its predecessor, the new Model Y is loaded to the teeth with active and passive safety features. As noted by the company on its official webpage, the Model Y is designed with a stiff body structure that could absorb crash energy as best as possible. Its airbags are also optimized and designed to protect all occupants. The new Model Y’s stiff body is quite evident in the aftermath of the crash in China, as the whole cabin seemed intact despite the huge collision.

While Teslas are armed to the teeth with safety features, the company’s biggest safety system is still its Full Self-Driving (FSD) suite, which allows vehicles to navigate inner city streets and highways with very limited human intervention, at least for now. Unlike human drivers, FSD always follows the rules of the road. It also never gets tired, or gets distracted.

Tesla appears to have rolled out a paid performance upgrade for the new Model Y crossover. The paid upgrade was spotted and shared on social media by members of the Tesla community this weekend.

Tesla Model Y Acceleration Boost

As observed by longtime Tesla owner-investor Matthew Donegan-Ryan in a post on X, Tesla has released an “Acceleration Boost” upgrade for the 2026 Model Y. The upgrade, which can be purchased for $2,000 on the Tesla App, adds about 100 hp to the all-electric crossover’s power, allowing it to go from 0-60 mph in just 4.2 seconds.

Without the Acceleration Boost upgrade, the new Model Y Long Range All Wheel Drive (AWD) is able to go from 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds. That’s not slow by any means, but an improvement of .4 seconds in acceleration is notable, especially for drivers who value speed.

New Tesla Model Y Offerings

Following the end of the new Model Y Launch Series, Tesla started offering the Model Y Long Range AWD to customers in the United States. This is quite interesting as prior to its “Juniper” update, the Model Y was offered in three variants: the Rear Wheel Drive (RWD), the Long Range AWD, and the Performance. 

Speculations were high that Tesla would roll out the RWD and Performance variants of the updated all-electric crossover after it ended the vehicle’s limited edition Launch Series, but so far, only the Model Y Long Range AWD has been made available in the United States. With this in mind, the $2,000 “Acceleration Boost” upgrade could be worth it for drivers who wish to get the most performance out of their Model Y, at least while waiting for the new Model Y Performance.

A Waymo self-driving robotaxi caught a ton of attention on social media this weekend–but for the wrong reason.

The robotaxi in question was spotted in Tokyo, Waymo’s first offshore market for testing and data collection.

Waymo Pulled Over

As could be seen in the image, which was posted on X by user @YukkuriMasa1225, a Waymo robotaxi was seemingly pulled over by traffic police. The self-driving car could be seen stopped on the side of the road, while a traffic cop on a motorcycle seemed to be preparing a ticket for the robotaxi. 

The image caught a lot of attention on social media, garnering over 1 million impressions on X as of writing. Several comments poked fun at the idea of a robotaxi getting a ticket from the traffic police, while some joked that Waymo’s other vehicles could also be caught. That being said, there is a likely explanation behind the humorous ordeal.

Waymo’s Tokyo Rollout

Waymo’s robotaxi rollout in Tokyo started in April. While the vehicles are capable of driving autonomously, the robotaxis are still operated manually by drivers from Nihon Kotsu, one of Tokyo’s largest taxi companies. This means that the traffic stop that spread on social media was likely caused by a human driver’s actions, not Waymo’s self-driving system.

Waymo’s rollout in Japan is currently focused on the seven wards in central Tokyo, which are comprised of Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chuo, Shinagawa, and Koto. Data gathered by the Nihon Kotsu drivers are expected to be used to adapt Waymo’s self-driving system for the Japanese market. 

The potential of Waymo’s robotaxis is vast, particularly with regard to road safety. Over 56.7 million miles, compared to human drivers, Waymo Driver achieved a 92% reduction in pedestrian injury crashes, 82% fewer crashes with injuries with cyclists, and 82% fewer crashes with injuries with motorcyclists.