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Tesla loses VP of Legal to LiDAR startup Luminar

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Tesla’s longtime Vice President of Legal and Acting General Counsel, Al Prescott, has joined LiDAR startup Luminar. Prescott announced the move earlier today after being with Tesla for just under four years.

“Luminar has pioneered safety-critical technology that will power our autonomous future. As someone who’s dedicated my career to automotive safety and innovation, I’m looking forward to helping drive Luminar to the next level and fulfill the mission to make transportation safer for everyone,” Prescott said to CNBC. Prescott has worked for years with autonomous cars, acting as a legal expert for companies planning to enter the sector.

Prior to Tesla, Prescott was Senior Counsel for Autonomous Vehicles for Uber, the popular ride-hailing service that has dabbled with autonomous vehicle projects in the past. He also spent 11 years with Ford, one as an engineer, before leaving to pursue his Juris Doctor at Georgetown. He then returned to Ford as an Attorney for over 10 years before joining Uber.

Interestingly, Prescott’s move to Luminar is surprising considering he is moving from Tesla, a company that has written off LiDAR for years, to a company whose specific focus is the technology. LiDAR utilizes lasers that target objects to determine ranges. This essentially detects lights and shadows to determine how far away an object is. Elon Musk has called LiDAR “a fool’s errand” in the past.

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Tesla’s Autonomy Day highlights Elon Musk’s vision for a full self-driving future without LiDAR

Bill Berry, Tesla’s current Head of Litigation, is expected to head the Tesla legal department but won’t assume the role of general counsel, according to people who are familiar with the matter.

Tesla lost several general counsels in 2018 and 2019 to pursue other ventures. Tesla is currently handling several lawsuits, including a recent one that was filed by shareholder Chase Gharrity, who accused CEO Elon Musk of exposing the automaker to billions in liabilities through his Twitter posts. Gharrity claims Tesla’s board is responsible for failing to appoint someone to keep Musk compliant with a 2018 settlement with the SEC, which would have someone oversee each of the CEO’s Tweets. The case is ongoing.

Prescott was the first speaker at the 2020 Battery Day/Shareholder Meeting hybrid event last September. Luminar is backed by Peter Thiel, an investor who has found success in several ventures such as PayPal and Facebook. The company is public and trades under LAZR on Nasdaq. Shares of the company spiked over 17% on the news of Prescott’s move to Luminar.

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla Full Self-Driving’s newest behavior is the perfect answer to aggressive cars

According to a recent video, it now appears the suite will automatically pull over if there is a tailgater on your bumper, the most ideal solution for when a driver is riding your bumper.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Full Self-Driving appears to have a new behavior that is the perfect answer to aggressive drivers.

According to a recent video, it now appears the suite will automatically pull over if there is a tailgater on your bumper, the most ideal solution for when a driver is riding your bumper.

With FSD’s constantly-changing Speed Profiles, it seems as if this solution could help eliminate the need to tinker with driving modes from the person in the driver’s seat. This tends to be one of my biggest complaints from FSD at times.

A video posted on X shows a Tesla on Full Self-Driving pulling over to the shoulder on windy, wet roads after another car seemed to be following it quite aggressively. The car looks to have automatically sensed that the vehicle behind it was in a bit of a hurry, so FSD determined that pulling over and letting it by was the best idea:

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We can see from the clip that there was no human intervention to pull over to the side, as the driver’s hands are stationary and never interfere with the turn signal stalk.

This can be used to override some of the decisions FSD makes, and is a great way to get things back on track if the semi-autonomous functionality tries to do something that is either unneeded or not included in the routing on the in-car Nav.

FSD tends to move over for faster traffic on the interstate when there are multiple lanes. On two-lane highways, it will pass slower cars using the left lane. When faster traffic is behind a Tesla on FSD, the vehicle will move back over to the right lane, the correct behavior in a scenario like this.

Perhaps one of my biggest complaints at times with Full Self-Driving, especially from version to version, is how much tinkering Tesla does with Speed Profiles. One minute, they’re suitable for driving on local roads, the next, they’re either too fast or too slow.

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When they are too slow, most of us just shift up into a faster setting, but at times, even that’s not enough, see below:

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There are times when it feels like it would be suitable for the car to just pull over and let the vehicle that is traveling behind pass. This, at least up until this point, it appears, was something that required human intervention.

Now, it looks like Tesla is trying to get FSD to a point where it just knows that it should probably get out of the way.

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Tesla Megapack powers $1.1B AI data center project in Brazil

By integrating Tesla’s Megapack systems, the facility will function not only as a major power consumer but also as a grid-supporting asset.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Megapack battery systems will be deployed as part of a 400MW AI data center campus in Uberlândia, Brazil. The initiative is described as one of Latin America’s largest AI infrastructure projects.

The project is being led by RT-One, which confirmed that the facility will integrate Tesla Megapack battery energy storage systems (BESS) as part of a broader industrial alliance that includes Hitachi Energy, Siemens, ABB, HIMOINSA, and Schneider Electric. The project is backed by more than R$6 billion (approximately $1.1 billion) in private capital.

According to RT-One, the data center is designed to operate on 100% renewable energy while also reinforcing regional grid stability.

“Brazil generates abundant energy, particularly from renewable sources such as solar and wind. However, high renewable penetration can create grid stability challenges,” RT-One President Fernando Palamone noted in a post on LinkedIn. “Managing this imbalance is one of the country’s growing infrastructure priorities.”

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By integrating Tesla’s Megapack systems, the facility will function not only as a major power consumer but also as a grid-supporting asset.

“The facility will be capable of absorbing excess electricity when supply is high and providing stabilization services when the grid requires additional support. This approach enhances resilience, improves reliability, and contributes to a more efficient use of renewable generation,” Palamone added.

The model mirrors approaches used in energy-intensive regions such as California and Texas, where large battery systems help manage fluctuations tied to renewable energy generation.

The RT-One President recently visited Tesla’s Megafactory in Lathrop, California, where Megapacks are produced, as part of establishing the partnership. He thanked the Tesla team, including Marcel Dall Pai, Nicholas Reale, and Sean Jones, for supporting the collaboration in his LinkedIn post.

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Starlink powers Europe’s first satellite-to-phone service with O2 partnership

The service initially supports text messaging along with apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Google Maps and weather tools.

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Credit: SpaceX

Starlink is now powering Europe’s first commercial satellite-to-smartphone service, as Virgin Media O2 launches a space-based mobile data offering across the UK.

The new O2 Satellite service uses Starlink’s low-Earth orbit network to connect regular smartphones in areas without terrestrial coverage, expanding O2’s reach from 89% to 95% of Britain’s landmass.

Under the rollout, compatible Samsung devices automatically connect to Starlink satellites when users move beyond traditional mobile coverage, according to Reuters.

The service initially supports text messaging along with apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Google Maps and weather tools. O2 is pricing the add-on at £3 per month.

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By leveraging Starlink’s satellite infrastructure, O2 can deliver connectivity in remote and rural regions without building additional ground towers. The move represents another step in Starlink’s push beyond fixed broadband and into direct-to-device mobile services.

Virgin Media O2 chief executive Lutz Schuler shared his thoughts about the Starlink partnership. “By launching O2 Satellite, we’ve become the first operator in Europe to launch a space-based mobile data service that, overnight, has brought new mobile coverage to an area around two-thirds the size of Wales for the first time,” he said.

Satellite-based mobile connectivity is gaining traction globally. In the U.S., T-Mobile has launched a similar satellite-to-cell offering. Meanwhile, Vodafone has conducted satellite video call tests through its partnership with AST SpaceMobile last year.

For Starlink, the O2 agreement highlights how its network is increasingly being integrated into national telecom systems, enabling standard smartphones to connect directly to satellites without specialized hardware.

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