Mysterious covered Tesla vehicles spotted testing in Giga Texas

Teslarati
2025.05.15 13:47
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Mysterious covered Tesla vehicles were spotted testing at Giga Texas, escorted by a Cybertruck. A drone video captured two partially covered vehicles resembling the new Model Y, raising speculation about their purpose. Some believe they may be test units for the upcoming Model Y Performance, while others suggest they could be prototypes for Tesla's affordable car. Tesla's VP hinted that future models will resemble existing designs, adding to the intrigue surrounding these sightings.

A recent drone flyover of the Giga Texas complex has provided some footage of mysterious vehicles that were seemingly being road-tested in the factory complex.

The sighting of the cryptic Teslas comes amid the company’s efforts to start the production of affordable cars this year.

The Sighting

A video of the two mysterious Teslas was shared on social media by longtime Giga Texas watcher Joe Tegtmeyer, who has been chronicling the activities and developments in the factory complex for years. In the video, the drone operator was simply following a new Tesla Model Y as it traveled from the main Gigafactory Texas building to the facility’s staging lot autonomously using FSD Unsupervised. This is a trip that spans 1.4 miles, and it includes pedestrians, cars, semi trucks, and construction equipment.

Interestingly enough, the drone operator ended up capturing two partially covered vehicles that were seemingly running road tests near the Giga Texas staging lot. The two vehicles, which were seemingly accompanied by a Tesla Cybertruck, were shaped like the new Model Y, though their front and rear ends were fully covered.

I was asked to follow a Model Y driving autonomously out of Giga Texas & along its full path to the W End-of-Line facility, so here you go!

Actual time was 5 minutes & 44 seconds, but I’ve sped up a few sections for this video. We even see a @cybertruck exiting the Cybertunnel… pic.twitter.com/8gnHzBaLWh

— Joe Tegtmeyer (@JoeTegtmeyer) May 14, 2025

Model Y Performance or Affordable Tesla?

The presence of the two mysterious Teslas in the drone operator’s video caught the attention of the EV community, some of whom speculated that the covered vehicles may be test units of the new Model Y Performance. The new Model Y, after all, has only been released in its Long Range Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) and Long Range All Wheel Drive (AWD) variants. The new Model Y Performance, the vehicle’s top variant, has not been released as of yet. This speculation seems plausible, considering that the vehicles’ front and rear were covered, similar to test units of the Model 3 Performance that were sighted in the wild before the car was released.

Others speculated that the cryptic Teslas could also be test units of the company’s upcoming affordable car. Previous reports have suggested that Tesla’s affordable vehicles may be based on cars like the Model Y, so it would not be surprising if its test units resemble the revamped all-electric crossover. Tesla VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy teased this resemblance during the Q1 2025 earnings call, when he stated that “models that come out in the next months will be built on our lines and will resemble, in form and shape, the cars we currently make.”

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