Someone spotted a Tesla Model S equipped with mysterious sensors we've never seen before

Tesla

A Tesla Model S outfitted with new sensors was spotted in the San Francisco Bay Area, leading at least some to believe that Tesla is experimenting with new hardware that could support its Autopilot feature.

Reddit user SteveP98 posted three images to to the Tesla Motors subreddit late Thursday evening showing off the sensors.

The first image, pictured below, shows a handful sensors in the windshield.

Reddit/steveP98

The second picture shows a sensor on the side mirror, which appear to be lidar sensors. Lidar is a remote sensing technology that uses lasers to map out the world around it.

Reddit/SteveP98

And the third image is of the bumper outfitted with addiotional hardware.

Reddit/steveP98

It's unclear whether Tesla is the one testing the additional sensors or if a third party is responsible for integrating the new hardware onto the vehicle.

Tesla did not immediately return our request for comment, but CEO Elon Musk has said that advancing Autopilot is at the top of his priority list.

In November, Musk took to Twitter to recruit software engineers to focus on Tesla's semi-autonomous system. And In January, Musk said that the company aims to develop Autopilot to the point where users will be able to summon their car across the country. However, he said that additional hardware will be needed to make this possible.