Tesla has made another bold move toward its vision of fully autonomous driving by enabling its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system in unsupervised mode in three of its largest manufacturing plants. Tesla vehicles that can move around factory grounds and nearby areas without direct human control are now running in the Fremont Factory in California, Giga Texas in Austin, and most recently, Giga Berlin in Germany.
This is a landmark not just in the history of Tesla but also in the evolution of autonomous driving technology. Tesla is showing that it is confident in the safety and reliability of the software by implementing it in controlled industrial settings on a large scale and is rapidly acquiring important data to further its development.
Why Factories Are the Perfect Testing Ground
Tesla factories resemble mini cities and are sprawling campuses. They have comprehensive road networks, parking areas, delivery areas, and charging areas. These spaces need vehicles to move quite often due to logistics, staff transportation, and deliveries.
Through unsupervised deployment of FSD in such settings, Tesla will meet two important goals:
- Real-World Data Collection – Factory grounds offer Tesla a semi-controlled setting in which FSD can be stressed in a complex but reproducible setting, like manoeuvring around tight bends, yielding to pedestrians, or following an industrial traffic pattern, such as forklifts and trucks.
- Operational Efficiency – Automation of the vehicle movement eliminates human labour usage and enhances security in the factory campuses. Rather than manually repositioning cars or performing regular transfers, which are routine duties of the employees, FSD-enabled Teslas will independently perform the same tasks, allowing the staff to focus on production and engineering.
Tesla is now running Unsupervised FSD at three of their factories.
Fremont Factory, Giga Texas, and now Giga Berlin. pic.twitter.com/vjk7XXrjzE
— Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzpatane) September 3, 2025
Fremont and Texas Lead the Way
The first one to implement unsupervised FSD in on-site operations was the Fremont Factory, the first Tesla manufacturing hub. Here, the company validated its capability to manage hundreds of vehicles daily in an environment filled with constant movement.
Following the success of Fremont, Giga Texas expanded the program earlier. Tesla now has a facility that is significantly bigger and more modern at the Austin site, producing Model Y and ramping up production of Cybertrucks to demonstrate the potential of FSD. It is reported that now, employees at the factory regularly notice Teslas driving around the campus without drivers in them.
Giga Berlin Joins the Program
Tesla has recently opened the European center of Model Y production, Giga Berlin. The implementation of unmonitored FSD in Germany is especially noticeable since it shows that Tesla has strong confidence in complying with European safety and regulatory standards, which are stricter than those in the U.S.
In announcing the activation of FSD at Giga Berlin, Tesla is also fulfilling its plan to globalize autonomous operations. Although the cars do not go far beyond factory grounds, this growth is an indication that Tesla will one day deploy unsupervised FSD to European streets with regulatory approval.
Conclusion
By having unsupervised FSD in multiple factories, it can be seen that Tesla is relying on incremental rollout. Tesla is not waiting until the technological aspect of the mass road receives blanket regulatory approval, but is testing it in locations where it has complete control over the road.
If successful, such a model could serve as a wider adaptation. Perhaps in the future, we will see Tesla fleets autonomously moving goods between warehouses or picking up employees within industrial parks. Ultimately, when regulators feel more comfortable with the performance of the system, unsupervised FSD might make its way to city streets.
