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This Tesla safety engineer just left after over 14 years

The crash engineer didn’t disclose any specific reasons for his departure. “I have decided now is the time to move on.”

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Credit: IIHS

A key Tesla safety engineer has departed from the company, as shared earlier this month, following nearly a decade and a half spent working across three of the automaker’s locations.

In a post on LinkedIn last week, Tesla’s Principal CAE Crash Safety Engineer, Petter Winberg, announced his departure from the company after working there for over 14 years. Winberg played a major role in Tesla’s efforts to make its vehicles some of the safest out there, starting as a Senior Tech Specialist in 2011 and slowly getting promoted to his current position.

In his position, Winberg worked on crash architectures for the Cybercab, Semi, and future vehicles, along with the Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Model Y, and developing specific accident architectures once Giga Casting production came into play. The executive’s full departure announcement reads as follows:

Elon, 2011: “I want Tesla vehicles to be the safest on the planet” Me: “Challenge accepted”

Having developed Model S, S-DM, X, 3, Y, Y-SP as well as future crash architectures, I have decided now is the time to move on. Thank you Tesla, keep crushing it! What an incredible team, I will miss you all.

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READ MORE ON TESLA SAFETY: Tesla executive responds to claims of high fatal accident rate

During his time at Tesla, the engineer worked at the company’s engineering headquarters in Palo Alto, California, before moving to the company’s nearby Fremont factory, then finally landing at the automaker’s Gothenburg, Sweden facilities, where he has served in his current position since January 2020. Prior to this, Winberg also worked at Volvo, Saab, Ford, and Volvo.

The post also elicited a handful of comments from colleagues, including one commenter who called Winberg the “master of crash simulations,” and multiple others who praised him for his guidance and knowledge of the subject.

Tesla has also been heavily focused on making its vehicles safe since the early days, as Winberg points out.

As one example in October, Tesla VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy reiterated this point by highlighting both the company’s active and passive safety features included in the Model Y and other vehicles. Moravy detailed that, while features built-in for the Autopilot and Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) systems provide active safety features meant to help prevent crashes, even if “the worst occurs, [Tesla drivers] will be protected by the best passive safety cars on the planet.”

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The company’s vehicles have also earned top safety ratings across four different continents at this point, most recently including a five-star safety rating for the Cybertruck from the top auto regulator in the U.S.

Over the last several months, Tesla has also faced executive and high-profile engineering departures a handful of times, as can probably be expected from most companies of its size.

Some examples include the departure of Safety Policy Lead Marc Van Impe and Chief Information Officer Nagesh Saldi in October, VP of Finance and Business Operations Sreela Venkataratnam in August, and both SVP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering Drew Baglino and VP of Public Policy and Business Development Rohan Patel in April, to name just a few.

This former Tesla engineer now heads a federal tech department

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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 Robotaxi test units spotted in new region ahead of launch

These validation units are used to gain additional data for Tesla’s internal use, or even potentially for regulatory purposes that the company can share with agencies that will eventually grant a license to operate Robotaxi in the state.

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Credit: @MWraps30584 | X

Tesla Robotaxi test units are being spotted in various new regions ahead of their launch in new states. Tesla is aiming to launch in at least a few new states in the coming months as it is ramping up hiring for the Robotaxi program and aiming to expand its ride-hailing service.

Already active in Austin, Texas, and the California Bay Area, Tesla is looking to expand its Robotaxi operations to new states. It’s had its eyes set on Nevada, Florida, and Arizona, which have seemed to have the most movement of the three prospects over the past month or so.

That trend is continuing.

Earlier this month, we reported on two Robotaxi units spotted testing with LiDAR rigs for ground truth validation in Gilbert, Arizona. Noted Cybertruck owner and enthusiast Greggertruck spotted the two units traveling on a highway.

Tesla Robotaxi testing in Arizona is ramping up quickly

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Now, those same two units, or at least they appear to be, were spotted in Scottsdale, which is also a suburb of Phoenix, like Gilbert is, with the same LiDAR rigs:

These validation units are used to gain additional data for Tesla’s internal use, or even potentially for regulatory purposes that the company can share with agencies that will eventually grant a license to operate Robotaxi in the state.

Tesla is not a company that utilizes LiDAR for its everyday self-driving efforts, as it has utilized only cameras for the past several years.

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Tesla Vision, as the company calls it, is what CEO Elon Musk feels is needed to achieve a fully autonomous network of vehicles, which will eventually need zero supervision for passenger transportation.

LiDAR is utilized by other companies, like Waymo, but Tesla has maintained that it is not necessary for several years. Musk has called it a “crutch” for achieving the proper self-driving tech, and the company only uses it for an additional bit of data.

Tesla has been operating its Robotaxi service in Austin since late June, and it has expanded its service area in the city to nearly 300 square miles, with its most recent expansion occurring earlier this week.

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Elon Musk

Tesla’s popular side business is going to get bigger, Elon Musk says

It took several years to get the Diner developed, built, and opened. On July 21, Tesla launched the Diner to the public at 4:20 p.m. local time (of course), after years of development. Musk first offered the idea of a drive-in Supercharger Diner back in December 2018.

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tesla diner in los angeles during daytime
Credit: Matt Hartman

Tesla will open two new Diner locations in the United States after its first location in Los Angeles has been a raging success, as it is constantly packed and serving food for 24 hours a day, every day.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the initial Diner location on Santa Monica Boulevard is “going well,” and based on reviews and its constant out-the-door lines, it is safe to say it has been a major outlet of interest for people in the area.

It features two massive movie screens, a menu that is locally sourced and has been created by a world-class chef, and Supercharging for EVs. It truly is the perfect stop for those who are hungry, need entertainment, or need a quick charge.

tesla diner

Credit: Tesla

So far, Tesla has not released too many details on the success of the restaurant, but it did state in a graphic for its Q3 Supercharging stats that it sold roughly 50,000 burgers at the Diner in Q3, roughly 715 each day. Burgers are not the only thing on the menu, either.

With how well it has gone, Musk is now considering the possibility of new locations that are notable to Tesla, including Austin and Palo Alto.

On Friday, Musk revealed he believes it “probably makes sense to open one” near Gigafactory Texas and Engineering HQ in Palo Alto:”

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It took several years to get the Diner developed, built, and opened. On July 21, Tesla launched the Diner to the public at 4:20 p.m. local time (of course), after years of development. Musk first offered the idea of a drive-in Supercharger Diner back in December 2018.

By 2023, Tesla had secured building permits and broken ground on the site in September of that year.

Since its launch, it has been a popular hotspot for Tesla fans and others to visit, although it has attracted unwanted attention from protestors as well.

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They look hungry. If they walked inside and ordered some food, maybe they’d stop yelling into microphones and threatening Musk.

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Elon Musk’s AI empire grows as xAI leases Palo Alto space near Tesla

The expanding footprint of Elon Musk’s companies in Palo Alto bodes well for the CEO’s plans in the area.

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Credit: xAI/X

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is expanding its Silicon Valley footprint, leasing roughly 105,000 square feet of office space at Palo Alto’s Page Mill Center, just blocks away from Tesla’s engineering complex.

Musk’s deepening Silicon Valley footprint

People familiar with the matter have informed the San Francisco Business Times that xAI’s lease at Page Mill Center may already have been finalized, adding to the company’s existing headquarters at 1450 Page Mill Road. The two offices share a parking lot, reflecting Musk’s strategy of consolidating his ventures. Tesla’s engineering hub is also just a few blocks away.

The new offices form a growing cluster of Musk-led companies in the heart of the Valley and come as xAI has listed over 250 job openings. These include listings for engineers, designers, and technical staff, among others. 

xAI’s aggressive hiring push hints at rapid scaling, which makes quite a lot of sense considering the company’s ambitious projects. xAI oversees the large language model Grok and other AI initiatives such as the newly launched Grokipedia, and the startup has also acquired the social media platform X. Real estate owner Hudson Pacific Properties, the owners of Page Mill Center, have so far declined to comment.

AI demand and Silicon Valley’s office rebound

Silicon Valley’s office market, long subdued by remote work trends, is seeing renewed activity from AI firms. Hudson Pacific told investors this summer that tenant demand has reached a three-year high, with over half of new leases driven by artificial intelligence companies. Vacancy rates have now fallen for four straight quarters to 16.6% as well, CBRE reported.

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The expanding footprint of Elon Musk’s companies in Palo Alto bodes well for the CEO’s plans in the area. Musk, after all, has previously butted heads with officials, resulting in his two biggest ventures, electric vehicle maker Tesla and private space company SpaceX, officially relocating their headquarters to Texas.

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