Abu Dhabi has taken a significant step toward the future of mobility, launching Tesla’s first ‘Full Self-Driving (Supervised)’ road trials in the emirate while simultaneously overseeing the region’s first pilot operation of autonomous trucks.

The Integrated Transport Centre (ITC), an affiliate of the Department of Municipalities and Transport, announced the commencement of Tesla’s advanced driving trials under driver supervision. The move marks a first for Abu Dhabi and signals the emirate’s growing commitment to smart and autonomous mobility solutions.

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According to a WAM report, the trials are being conducted within a structured regulatory framework designed to evaluate the technology’s performance under real-world operating conditions and verify its operational and safety readiness before broader adoption.

Tesla’s ‘full self-driving’ put to the test

The road trials are being carried out in coordination with the Legislation Lab at the General Secretariat of the UAE Cabinet. The initiative aims to support innovation while operating within approved regulatory frameworks.

The ITC said the project seeks to establish an advanced model for testing driver-assistance and autonomous driving technologies in the region, ensuring that safety standards remain paramount while new technologies are introduced.

“The supervision of the ITC over the commencement of Tesla’s advanced autonomous driving technology tests reflects its regulatory and legislative role. These tests represent a qualitative step to evaluate the technology’s performance in a real-world operating environment and to collect the necessary data to verify its readiness before any future expansion in usage,” said Dr Abdulla Hamad AlGhfeli, acting director-general of the ITC.

He added that through cooperation with strategic partners, the centre aims to strike a careful balance between encouraging innovation and safeguarding road users.

“Through this organised framework, and in cooperation with strategic partners, the centre seeks to strike a careful balance between supporting innovation and encouraging the adoption of smart solutions, while ensuring road user safety, in line with the emirate’s vision of developing an advanced, safe and sustainable transport system,” Dr AlGhfeli said.

MENA’s first autonomous truck pilot in KEZAD

In a parallel development, the ITC also announced its supervision of a pilot project for autonomous truck operations in partnership with Autotech and AD Ports Group.

The project is being implemented within Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi – KEZAD and is described as the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa for logistics and freight transport.

The initiative focuses on evaluating autonomous truck operations within a defined industrial and logistics environment. Pilot trips have been conducted along dedicated routes inside KEZAD in accordance with approved regulatory frameworks and operational standards.

During 2025, the developer worked under ITC supervision to adapt artificial intelligence-based autonomous driving systems to local road requirements and logistics transport needs. The objective has been to ensure safe, seamless operations while assessing the technology’s readiness for real-world deployment.

The ITC said the project forms part of broader efforts to strengthen the emirate’s smart mobility ecosystem and enhance regulatory readiness for innovative transport solutions. It is also expected to improve freight efficiency and operational performance across economic and industrial zones, paving the way for eventual commercial deployment of autonomous logistics services.

“These initiatives contribute to enhancing the efficiency of the transport ecosystem, supporting the competitiveness of economic sectors, and reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s position as a leading regional hub in adopting smart mobility solutions and autonomous systems, in line with the UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031,” Dr AlGhfeli said.

Together, the Tesla trials and autonomous truck pilot underscore Abu Dhabi’s strategy to integrate cutting-edge technologies into its transport infrastructure while maintaining a strong regulatory framework, positioning the emirate at the forefront of autonomous mobility development in the region.

The UAE could see light rainfall and a drop in temperatures early this week, with the National Center of Meteorology (NCM) forecasting partly cloudy to cloudy conditions across several areas, including islands and western coastal zones.

According to the NCM’s outlook for Monday, March 2, skies will be partly cloudy to cloudy at times, with a chance of light rain by night and into Tuesday morning, particularly over offshore islands. Temperatures are expected to decrease, while humidity levels will rise overnight and into Tuesday morning across some western coastal and internal areas, increasing the likelihood of reduced visibility in the early hours.

Winds on Monday are forecast to be light to moderate, blowing southeasterly to northeasterly at speeds of 10–25 km/h, freshening at times and reaching up to 35 km/h. Sea conditions in the Arabian Gulf will be slight to moderate, while the Oman Sea will remain slight.

On Tuesday, March 3, cloud cover is expected to persist, with rainfall possible over islands and some western coastal areas. Winds will shift from southeasterly to northwesterly, maintaining speeds of 10–25 km/h and reaching up to 40 km/h, particularly by night over the sea. Maritime conditions are forecast to deteriorate slightly, with the Arabian Gulf turning rough by night, while the Oman Sea will be slight to moderate.

Oil prices rose by about $1 on Friday as traders remained on alert for potential supply disruptions after the US and Iran extended nuclear talks.

Brent crude futures advanced by $1.13, or 1.6 per cent, to $71.88 a barrel by 1030 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.10, or 1.7 per cent, at $66.31.

“Uncertainty prevails, fear is pushing prices higher today,” said Tamas Varga, an oil analyst at brokerage PVM. “It is completely driven by the outcome of the Iranian nuclear talks and possible military action the U.S. might take against Iran.”

For the week, Brent was set to finish with a gain of 0.2 per cent while WTI was poised for a 0.1 per cent decline.

The US and Iran held indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday after President Donald Trump ordered a military build-up in the region.

Oil prices gained more than a dollar a barrel during the talks on media reports indicating that discussions had stalled over US insistence on zero enrichment of uranium by Iran. However, prices eased after the Omani mediator said the two sides had made progress in the talks.

They plan to resume negotiations with technical-level discussions scheduled next week in Vienna, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said on X.

“We think the latest round of talks offers some hope on chances of a peaceful resolution, but military strikes are in no way out of the equation,” said DBS analyst Suvro Sarkar.

Trump said on February 19 that Iran must make a deal over its nuclear programme within 10 to 15 days or “really bad things” will happen.

Geopolitical risk premiums of $8 to $10 a barrel have built in oil prices on fears that a conflict will disrupt Middle East supply through the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20% of global oil supply passes, Sarkar said.

To cushion the impact from a possible strike, Saudi Arabia is increasing oil production and exports, two sources familiar with the plans told Reuters.

Producer group OPEC+, meanwhile, is likely to consider raising oil output by 137,000 barrels per day for April at its March 1 meeting, sources said, after suspending production increases in the first quarter.

Netflix jumped more than 9 per cent premarket on Friday as investors cheered its decision to exit the fight for Warner Bros Discovery, while Paramount rose about 10 per cent on winning the race for some of the world’s most prized TV and film assets.

The end of the months-long bidding war put the focus back on the significant antitrust scrutiny that the Paramount-Warner Bros tie-up would face in the US and Europe, including an active investigation in California. Warner Bros shares were marginally lower.

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Paramount Skydance maintained its dogged pursuit of Warner Bros, launching a hostile campaign to wrest the prize from Netflix. It managed to lure Warner Bros back to the bargaining table last week, with a revised $31-a-share bid that topped Netflix’s $27.75 offer for the studio and streaming assets.

Netflix said the price required to stay in the contest had climbed beyond what it considered financially sound, confirming to Reuters that it would withdraw from the takeover battle. “We’ve always been disciplined… the deal is no longer financially attractive,” the company said.

“The bid always looked like a mix of offence and defence – shoring up content and scale, while keeping competition from gaining any edge, but at a very high price,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“For now, at least, the market seems to be pricing this as a win for everyone.”

In the fight for Warner Bros, the Paramount consortium backed by billionaire Larry Ellison and led by his son, Paramount CEO David Ellison, also boosted its termination fee to $7bn and expanded its financing commitments, including $45.7bn in equity.

“In the US, we believe Paramount has a good enough relationship with the presidential administration to ease concerns, and the Department of Justice has set a precedent in overlooking the merger of major studios when Disney bought Fox,” analysts at Morningstar said.

British Airways owner IAG reported better than expected annual profit on Friday, helped by lower fuel costs and demand strength on core transatlantic routes and in premium cabins.

European airlines have been buoyed by premium demand across the North Atlantic, a sector-wide trend in which affluent travellers continue to spend even as US demand for economy fares has softened.

IAG has been a European leader in recent years thanks to strengthened transatlantic links in North and South America. However, price-sensitive travellers have pulled back against a backdrop of tariff-related uncertainty and shifting US demand signals.

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The group warned in November of weakness in the economy segment of the transatlantic market, sending its share price lower.

“Since Q3 we have seen a rebound,” chief executive Luis Gallego told a media call, adding that premium and corporate demand were performing particularly well at British Airways and that bookings for the first quarter of 2026 were strong.

The shares have since recovered, but IAG has lost top spot for share-price growth to Air France-KLM, shares in which have jumped by 50 per cent in the past year. IAG shares are up 36 per cent over the same period.

Other European carriers are also benefiting from robust demand at the top end of the market, with Lufthansa rolling out new premium seats and Air France enhancing premium products through upgraded cabins, lounges and onboard services.

IAG reported operating profit before exceptional items of €5.02bn euros ($5.93bn), slightly ahead of the €4.97bn forecast by analysts polled by LSEG and up 13 per cent year on year.

The company said on Thursday that it would return €1.5bn to shareholders over the next 12 months, starting with a €500m share buyback to be completed by the end of May.

It added that it expected capacity growth of about 3 per cent, with no delivery delays projected from planemakers Airbus and Boeing.

Finance chief Nicholas Cadbury told reporters there was still little visibility for the second and third quarters, explaining why the group did not provide a more detailed outlook, and there was some weakness in the Africa and Middle East region.