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Tesla driver slams into State Police tending to another accident, DUI being investigated

Credit: Twitter | @Arizona_DPS

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The driver of a Tesla Model S crashed into the back of an Arizona State Trooper’s SUV on Tuesday after reportedly being under the influence. The driver told officers and deputies on the scene that he was using Tesla’s driving-assist Autopilot system.

The Trooper’s SUV then collided with an ambulance that was parked in front of the vehicle. The officer who was using the car was not in the vehicle at the time of the collision and was not injured.

The incident took place on Interstate 10 eastbound near Benson, Arizona, in the Southeastern portion of the state.

The officer and ambulance involved in the crash were on the scene attending to victims from a previous collision, a member of the Arizona Department of Public Safety told Teslarati.

The driver of the Tesla seemingly did not move over to the right-hand lane when the SUV and Ambulance were parked on the left-hand shoulder.

In 2005, the State of Arizona passed the “Move Over” law, which required all drivers to shift lanes to protect police officers and emergency personnel from being subjected to vehicles passing at dangerous speeds.

At the current time, the driver of the Model S is in a Tucson, Arizona area hospital being treated for serious but non-life-threatening injuries. He has not been charged with anything at the current time, but is being investigated for Driving Under the Influence, an Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesperson said to Teslarati.

This is not the first time Tesla’s Autopilot has been under fire. In 2018, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigated an accident in Utah, where a driver who was using Autopilot in their Model S crashed into a parked firetruck at 60 MPH.

The driver walked away from the accident with a broken ankle, and NHTSA findings showed that she had not used Autopilot’s features responsibly. The steering wheel was unattended for 80 seconds, and the driver admitted to looking at her cell phone when the incident occurred.

Tesla maintains that using Autopilot still requires the attention of the driver at all times. Drivers are required to keep their hands on the steering wheel while using any of the company’s self-driving capabilities to ensure the safety of everyone on the road.

Autopilot has been blamed for accidents in the past. However, in many incidents, like the one in Utah, the company’s self-driving capability was vindicated based on NHTSA investigation findings. Tesla Autopilot remains one of the safest ways to navigate, as vehicles using the characteristic were involved in an accident once every 4.68 million miles driven, according to the company’s safety report. The national average is 479,000 miles.

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 Twitter @KlenderJoey.

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Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025

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Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan

Tesla plans to supply over 100 Megapack units to support a large stationary storage project in Japan, making it one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Megapack grid-scale batteries have been selected to back an energy storage project in Japan, coming as the latest of the company’s continued deployment of the hardware.

As detailed in a report from Nikkei this week, Tesla plans to supply 142 Megapack units to support a 548 MWh storage project in Japan, set to become one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities. The project is being overseen by financial firm Orix, and it will be located at a facility Maibara in central Japan’s Shiga prefecture, and it aims to come online in early 2027.

The deal is just the latest of several Megapack deployments over the past few years, as the company continues to ramp production of the units. Tesla currently produces the Megapack at a facility in Lathrop, California, though the company also recently completed construction on its second so-called “Megafactory” in Shanghai China and is expected to begin production in the coming weeks.

READ MORE ON TESLA MEGAPACKS: Tesla Megapacks help power battery supplier Panasonic’s Kyoto test site

Tesla’s production of the Megapack has been ramping up at the Lathrop facility since initially opening in 2022, and both this site and the Shanghai Megafactory are aiming to eventually reach a volume production of 10,000 Megapack units per year. The company surpassed its 10,000th Megapack unit produced at Lathrop in November.

During Tesla’s Q4 earnings call last week, CEO Elon Musk also said that the company is looking to construct a third Megafactory, though he did not disclose where.

Last year, Tesla Energy also had record deployments of its Megapack and Powerwall home batteries with a total of 31.4 GWh of energy products deployed for a 114-percent increase from 2023.

Other recently deployed or announced Megapack projects include a massive 600 MW/1,600 MWh facility in Melbourne, a 75 MW/300 MWh energy storage site in Belgium, and a 228 MW/912 MWh storage project in Chile, along with many others still.

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

Tesla highlights the Megapack site replacing Hawaii’s last coal plant

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Elon Musk responds to Ontario canceling $100M Starlink deal amid tariff drama

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, opens new tab on February 3 that he was “ripping up” his province’s CA$100 million agreement with Starlink in response to the U.S. imposing tariffs on Canadian goods.

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NORAD and USNORTHCOM Public Affairs, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Elon Musk company SpaceX is set to lose a $100 million deal with the Canadian province of Ontario following a response to the Trump administration’s decision to apply 25 percent tariffs to the country.

Starlink, a satellite-based internet service launched by the Musk entity SpaceX, will lose a $100 million deal it had with Ontario, Premier Doug Ford announced today.

Ford said on X today that Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts:

“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy. Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.”

It is a blow to the citizens of the province more than anything, as the Starlink internet constellation has provided people in rural areas across the globe stable and reliable access for several years.

Musk responded in simple terms, stating, “Oh well.”

It seems Musk is less than enthused about the fact that Starlink is being eliminated from the province, but it does not seem like all that big of a blow either.

As previously mentioned, this impacts citizens more than Starlink itself, which has established itself as a main player in reliable internet access. Starlink has signed several contracts with various airlines and maritime companies.

It is also expanding to new territories across the globe on an almost daily basis.

With Mexico already working to avoid the tariff situation with the United States, it will be interesting to see if Canada does the same.

The two have shared a pleasant relationship, but President Trump is putting his foot down in terms of what comes across the border, which could impact Americans in the short term.

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