Tesla has expanded the use of autonomous vehicle navigation at its Texas Gigafactory, with new footage showing Model Y and Cybertruck units driving themselves to the outbound lot, mirroring a process already implemented at the company’s Fremont, California plant earlier this year.
Drone operator and longtime Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer posted a video on social media platform X on Monday, showing several vehicles independently exiting the production line and heading to the delivery area. “I saw this happening constantly, with Model Ys exiting and immediately driving away on their own from the factory,” Tegtmeyer said in the post, calling the move a “huge accomplishment.”
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The development precedes Tesla’s planned launch of its Unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) program in the Austin area. The rollout is expected to occur in the coming weeks, and will accompany the company’s broader push into commercial robotaxi operations, starting with selected U.S. cities.
Breaking Giga Texas News! starting today, new vehicles (Model Ys & @Cybertruck are moving fully autonomously from the factory to the west outbound lot and without human supervisors!
I saw this happening constantly, with Model Ys exiting and immediately driving away on their own… pic.twitter.com/LOAaao99OL
— Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠🛸😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) April 7, 2025
In January, Tesla revealed that its Fremont plant had begun using self-driving technology to move newly built vehicles without human input. The extension of this process to the Giga Texas facility signals growing internal adoption of Tesla’s FSD system, even as regulatory scrutiny continues in public-use scenarios.
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Tesla has reportedly been in regular contact with Austin officials about plans to launch robotaxi services in the city. The company intends to introduce commercial operations in both Austin and California later this year, with a broader national rollout to follow. The expansion comes as Waymo, a unit of Alphabet Inc, has also been deploying autonomous ride-hailing services in Austin in partnership with Uber.