diff --git a/src/plugins/template/index.js b/src/plugins/template/index.js
index cd2728d..3ced3a0 100644
--- a/src/plugins/template/index.js
+++ b/src/plugins/template/index.js
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ function plugin(alpine) {
 
         const tpl = document.getElementById(expression);
 
-        if (!is_template(tpl)) {
+        if (!tpl || !is_template(tpl)) {
             warn("x-template directive can only reference the template tag");
             return;
         }
diff --git a/tests/playwright/x-template.spec.js b/tests/playwright/x-template.spec.js
index 89a5e6a..4dd3087 100644
--- a/tests/playwright/x-template.spec.js
+++ b/tests/playwright/x-template.spec.js
@@ -14,3 +14,54 @@ test("x-template", async ({ page }) => {
 
     await expect(page.locator("span")).toHaveText("Foo");
 });
+
+test("x-template does not throw when element id does not exist", async ({ page }) => {
+    const errors = [];
+    page.on("console", msg => {
+        if (msg.type() === "warning") {
+            errors.push(msg.text());
+        }
+    });
+
+    await set_html(page, `
+        <div x-data>
+            <div id="host" x-template="non-existent-id"></div>
+        </div>`);
+
+    expect(errors).toEqual(["alpinegear.js: x-template directive can only reference the template tag"]);
+});
+
+test("x-template does not render when referenced element is not a template tag", async ({ page }) => {
+    const errors = [];
+    page.on("console", msg => {
+        if (msg.type() === "warning") {
+            errors.push(msg.text());
+        }
+    });
+
+    await set_html(page, `
+        <div id="not-a-template"><span>should not appear</span></div>
+        <div x-data>
+            <div id="host" x-template="not-a-template"></div>
+        </div>`);
+
+    expect(errors).toEqual(["alpinegear.js: x-template directive can only reference the template tag"]);
+    await expect(page.locator("#host")).toBeEmpty();
+});
+
+test("x-template does not render when used on a template element itself", async ({ page }) => {
+    const errors = [];
+    page.on("console", msg => {
+        if (msg.type() === "warning") {
+            errors.push(msg.text());
+        }
+    });
+
+    await set_html(page, `
+        <template id="tpl"><span>content</span></template>
+        <div x-data>
+            <template id="host" x-template="tpl"></template>
+        </div>`);
+
+    expect(errors).toEqual(["alpinegear.js: x-template cannot be used on a 'template' tag"])
+});