Tesla CEO . Elon Musk has officially acknowledged that vehicles with Hardware 3 (HW3) will not be able to support unsupervised Full Self-Driving Approximately 4 million Tesla vehicles run on the HW3 platform , which means that a significant number of owners, including those who paid for the feature when they purchased their car , will not be able to use unsupervised FSD unless they upgrade their vehicle or its hardware .
Musk explained the technical limitations that led to this decision: “I wish it were different, but Hardware 3 simply doesn’t have the capability to achieve unsupervised FSD. At one point we thought it would, but compared to Hardware 4, it only has one-eighth the memory bandwidth of Hardware 4.And memory bandwidth is one of the key elements needed for unsupervised FSD.”
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This recognition represents a significant shift in Tesla's strategy, as the company had previously argued that the HW3 could support full autonomy through software improvements.
Tesla’s history with FSD hardware has been marked by repeated promises and revisions. In 2016 , Musk claimed that all vehicles produced since then had “all the hardware needed for full self-driving,” including Level 5 autonomy . This turned out to be inaccurate, leading to Hardware 2.0 and 2.5 upgrades , with a judge later ruling the claim false advertising. In 2019 , Tesla unveiled Hardware 3 , a custom Full Self-Driving computer designed by experts including Jim Keller (formerly of AMD ).
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Upgrade solutions for Tesla HW3 owners
For customers who have purchased FSD, Tesla is offering a preferential trade-in for cars equipped with AI4. The company will also provide the option to upgrade the vehicle computer, although customers will have to replace the cameras to move to Hardware 4.According to The Verge, to facilitate this process effectively, Tesla plans to set up micro-factories in major metropolitan areas, as upgrades at service centers are slow and inefficient.
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Musk believes that it will eventually make sense to convert all Hardware 3 cars to Hardware 4 , as this upgrade is necessary to join the robotaxi fleet and use unsupervised FSD . The upgrade process is expected to be complex and time-consuming, with estimates talking about delays of 6-12 months and overloading of service centers.
