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This Tesla executive is leaving the company after over 12 years

Tesla’s top software engineering executive has left, though he hasn’t commented on his plans or reasoning for the departure.

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Credit: Andrea Conway/X

One Tesla software executive is set to depart after nearly 12 years with the company, as detailed in a report this week.

Tesla’s VP of Software Engineering David Lau is expected to be leaving the company, according to a report from Bloomberg that was published on Friday. Lau has worked on the company’s vehicle software as well as its cloud services, manufacturing systems, and more, as detailed on his LinkedIn page.

His vehicle software efforts included creating firmware for the powertrain, traction and stability systems, as well as being in charge of software needs such as battery management, vehicle body control, and the user interface included for navigation, and mobile apps.

The now-former executive started as a Senior Manager of Firmware Engineering, before being promoted multiple times to the recent position of VP, and after receiving a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. Prior to his time at Tesla, he also worked at chip manufacturer Altera.

In the past, Lau has also detailed a few high-level concepts for the press at media events, including in 2023 when he spoke on how to cultivate good engineers and the approach to making Tesla’s Model S “Plaid Mode” a reality. When the Cybertruck was released, he also appeared alongside other executives in a video with Sandy Munro, talking about the electric vehicle’s (EV’s) unique “Etherloop” system hardware.

At the time of writing, Lau has not responded to Teslarati‘s request for comment on the reasoning behind his departure or his time at Tesla.

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READ MORE ON TESLA PERSONNEL: Tesla VP of Finance and Business Operations departs after 11-year tenure

Others have departed from the company in recent months, most recently including Tesla’s former Principal CAE Crash Safety Engineer, Petter Winberg, who left a few weeks ago following a 14-year stint. In October, Tesla’s former Global Vehicle Automation and Safety Policy Lead, Marc Van Impe, also departed from the company with a warning about attempts to advance Full Self-Driving in Europe, along with the departure of Chief Information Officer Nagesh Saldi, to name just a few.

The news of Lau’s departure also comes as Tesla has faced widespread protests and vandalism events in response to CEO Elon Musk, following his alignment with President Donald Trump and his work to gut several federal agencies as part of the administration’s government efficiency division.

This former Tesla engineer now heads a federal tech department

Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Tesla is rolling out a new FSD version with a massive safety addition

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is rolling out a new version of its Full Self-Driving suite to some owners that comes with the massive addition of a safety feature.

Tesla is rolling out Automatic Collision Evasion with the 2026.27.6 Software Update, which started rolling out to some vehicles last night. We received the update, along with Full Self-Driving v14.3.9, which has identical release notes as the previous version and seems to have some refinements and improvements in behavior and performance.

However, most of the attention has fallen on the Automatic Collision Evasion feature, which we covered in an article last week.

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The function will activate Full Self-Driving to “try to keep your vehicle safe and then continue driving. It can engage in the following situations while you are driving manually:

  • Scenario 1: A frontal collision is imminent and braking alone may not avoid it.
  • Scenario 2: Your vehicle detects that you are not sufficiently attentive to the road (for example, reaching toward the back seat), or that Full Self-Driving (Supervised) may have been unintentionally disengaged.”

Essentially, FSD will take over when the vehicle determines you are not paying sufficient attention or are heading toward a potential collision. The addition of this feature is incredibly useful as distracted driving is a major issue in today’s world.

Along with the new safety feature is Tesla FSD v14.3.9, which has no additional release notes compared to the previous version, but in my first drives, my first impression is that operation is great, and parking is still sort of a pain point.

The addition of an Automatic Collision Evasion feature is similar to that of other collision avoidance systems that are used by companies like Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. These programs typically utilize radar and camera sensors to apply emergency brakes autonomously, though evasive steering in a manual driving mode is pioneered primarily by Tesla’s newest addition.

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Tesla primes Cybercabs for 4K streaming and high bandwidth gaming with Starlink integration

Tesla is now shipping Cybercabs from Giga Texas with Starlink hardware built in as standard.

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tesla cybercab with no manual controls showing a movie with two employees inside

Tesla’s Cybercabs are now leaving Gigafactory Texas with Starlink hardware on the rear hatch in significant numbers, according to drone footage captured Tuesday by longtime Austin drone observer Joe Tegtmeyer. Production at the factory ramped back up after the Labor Day weekend, and his flyover of the outbound lot showed rows of gold Cybercabs alongside Model Y Long Wheelbase units, many carrying the satellite module for the first time as standard equipment rather than a one off retrofit.

Tesla first showed Starlink built into an actual Cybercab on August 10, when the Robotaxi account posted images of a single gold unit with the antenna integrated into the roofline above the taillights and called it the first Cybercab with Starlink integration. That followed a July reveal where Tesla and Starlink jointly posted a cutaway diagram of the antenna placement without a working vehicle to back it up. Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s VP of AI software, said at the time that the connection isn’t required for the car to drive itself. It exists mainly for navigation, customer service and keeping tabs on the fleet.

Musk has made a different case in public. During Tesla’s Q2 earnings call, he said the company can’t afford robotaxis stranded in what he called “Bermuda Triangles of lack of cellular connectivity,” and he separately claimed on X that Starlink will eventually reach every Tesla built, calling it the only way to deliver high bandwidth to billions of vehicles. He has also pitched the antenna as an entertainment upgrade, telling riders they would be able to stream 4K video or play games during a trip.

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The rollout has moved fast since. Robotaxi service opened to the public in Austin on September 3, and Cybercabs had already been spotted with Starlink hardware in Houston and near Miami International Airport in the weeks before Tuesday’s factory footage showed the module shipping at volume rather than on scattered test units. Whether the satellite link earns its keep is still an open question. Tesla’s unsupervised service currently runs in dense metro geofences in Texas and Florida, markets where cellular coverage is already strong, which is not where the rural dead zones Musk describes tend to show up.

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Elon Musk hints at Tesla Cybercab’s next market

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(Credit: Teslarati)

After launching in Austin, Texas, last week, Tesla is looking to expand the Cybercab to new parts of the United States in an effort that will see the driverless, steering wheel-less, and pedal-less vehicle chauffeur people around as part of the Robotaxi ride-hailing service.

However, the expansion will go far beyond the United States, and CEO Elon Musk revealed he hopes Europe will be the next market where Cybercab will be operational.

Musk has publicly expressed hope that Tesla’s Cybercab robotaxi will reach Europe in the near future.

On September 8, Tesla’s Chief Executive quoted a German rider who had just completed a trip in Austin, Texas, and wrote that he hoped the vehicle would not take years to arrive in Germany. Musk replied with a short but notable message: “Hopefully soon in Europe too.”

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The comment arrived only days after Tesla opened Cybercab ride-hailing to the public in Austin. The two-seat vehicle has no steering wheel or pedals and relies entirely on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software. Early passengers have described the rides as quiet, smooth, and more stylish than competing robotaxis such as Waymo.

Austin is currently the only city where members of the public can hail a Cybercab through Tesla’s Robotaxi app. The initial fleet is small; Texas registration records show only a few dozen of the purpose-built vehicles on the road.

Tesla set to open Cybercab rides to the public, with no steering wheel or pedals

Tesla has also been operating a larger number of conventional Model Y robotaxis in the same area, but the Cybercab itself represents the company’s first dedicated, controls-free taxi design.

Europe presents a different regulatory picture. The European Union does not permit manufacturers to self-certify vehicles the way Tesla did in the United States.

Type-approval rules and a small-series limit of 1,500 automated vehicles per type per year apply across the bloc.

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Supervised Full Self-Driving has gained provisional approval in several member states through national recognition of Dutch certification, yet unsupervised robotaxi operation remains a separate and more distant step. Tesla has not announced a European launch city, date, or approval pathway for the Cybercab.

Musk himself has previously cautioned that the company does not control European regulators. In an earnings call earlier in 2026, he noted that even supervised FSD took an “immense amount of time” to clear and that unsupervised service would be “somewhat at the mercy of the governments in Europe and the EU.”

The latest social-media remark therefore functions more as an expression of intent than a timetable.

If the Cybercab eventually reaches European streets, it would mark a significant expansion of Tesla’s robotaxi ambitions beyond the United States. For now, the vehicle remains an Austin-only experience, and the gap between Musk’s hope and actual deployment will be decided by regulators rather than by engineering alone.

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