Footage circulating online appears to show a black Tesla Model Y driving autonomously on public roads in Austin, Texas, with no visible occupants inside the vehicle.

The video, recorded by a bystander, shows the vehicle navigating city streets, stopping at intersections, and maintaining lane position without an apparent driver or safety operator in the cabin. The sighting has prompted widespread discussion over whether Tesla has begun real-world testing of unsupervised autonomous vehicles.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged the footage in a post on X, stating that Tesla has begun testing Full Self-Driving (FSD) vehicles without safety drivers in Austin. Musk described the development as a step toward the company’s long-promised Robotaxi platform, which has faced repeated delays due to technical and regulatory hurdles.

Tesla has not released detailed information on the scope of the testing, the level of remote monitoring involved, or the regulatory approvals under which the vehicles are operating. It remains unclear whether the vehicle shown was fully driverless or subject to off-board supervision, a common requirement in autonomous vehicle trials.

Austin has become a hub for autonomous vehicle testing, with multiple companies operating under varying regulatory frameworks. Federal safety regulators have previously emphasized that advanced driver-assistance systems, including Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software, do not make vehicles fully autonomous under current classifications.

Neither Tesla nor local authorities have confirmed whether the vehicle in the footage was operating as part of a permitted pilot program or under experimental exemptions.

The footage marks a notable moment in Tesla’s autonomy narrative, but experts caution that limited test operations do not equate to broad public deployment or regulatory approval of driverless Robotaxis.