Google’s driverless ride-hailing company Waymo has revealed the latest in a string of AI research-related announcements, this time sharing results from a first-of-its-kind study on collisions with vulnerable road users.
Waymo last week announced EMMA, its end-to-end, multimodal research model for autonomous driving, though it isn’t being used commercially at this point. The company also went on to detail its current approach to AI in a separate press release, noting its continued research into real-world models and AI training, a concept that may sound familiar to those who have followed Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) development.
On Monday, however, Waymo shared results from a study on Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs), in which the company reconstructed hundreds of collisions involving VRUs like pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. Waymo says that the research, as conducted in a partnership with Nexar, is the largest dataset of its kind in the U.S., providing key insights into real-world crash scenarios.
The companies analyzed dash camera footage of 335 collisions involving VRUs across six U.S. cities, leveraging over 500 million miles of driving data from Nexar for the research. The partnership also worked with Waymo research partner VUFO, which contributed to the below models on collision injury risk.
Credit: Waymo
Credit: Waymo
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were an estimated 7,522 pedestrians and 1,105 cyclists who lost their lives in traffic crashes in 2022, though Waymo says VRU collision data remains scarce. The company explains this by noting that several VRU-related incidents don’t get reported to authorities or insurance firms, while the U.S. and other major accident databases lack data on these particular incidents.
“We’re excited to partner with Waymo on this cutting-edge research,” said Henrik Liers, Managing Director of Waymo research partner VUFO. “Our common work addresses critical limitations in existing models and provides a more precise, interdisciplinary approach to assessing injury risk for vulnerable road users. This is a significant contribution towards improving road safety.”
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving and end-to-end learning models
The recent developments from Waymo come as General Motors’s (GM’s) Cruise, Amazon’s Zoox, and Tesla’s Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) aim to offer similar robotaxi services. While Tesla doesn’t currently operate a paid ride-hailing service as Waymo does, it unveiled the two-seat, steering wheel-free Cybercab robotaxi last month.
Interestingly, Tesla’s FSD system has been touted by some as a more scalable solution, in no small part due to its end-to-end system that trains on millions of clips of real-time driving footage. Another factor is that FSD is available to any Tesla owner who purchases the software, meaning that its neural network stands to have a much wider potential research base than systems like Waymo—at least until services scale up substantially.
Tesla’s Cybercab isn’t expected to go into production until 2026, though FSD Supervised will certainly collect a substantial amount of data in the meantime. As of Tesla’s Q3 earnings call, the company has over 2 billion cumulative miles of data from FSD Supervised users, after it surpassed a milestone of 1.3 billion miles in April.
Tesla FSD V13 to implement features required for unsupervised driving: exec
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Elon Musk
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.
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:
Tesla appears to be implementing some sort of feature that will now pull over if someone is tailgating you to let the car by
Really cool feature, definitely get a lot of this from those who think they drive race cars
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 26, 2026
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.
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:
What has happened to Mad Max?
At one point it was going 32 in a 35. Traffic ahead had pulled away considerably https://t.co/bjKvaMVTNX pic.twitter.com/aaZSWmLu5v
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 24, 2026
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.
Elon Musk
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.
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.”
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.
Elon Musk
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.
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.
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.
Tesla Full Self-Driving’s newest behavior is the perfect answer to aggressive cars
Tesla Megapack powers $1.1B AI data center project in Brazil
