Elon Musk Confirms Millions of Tesla Cars Need New Hardware for Full Self-Driving
PCMag • • business
Key Points:
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that millions of vehicles sold between 2019 and 2023 with Hardware 3 are not capable of achieving full unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) due to hardware limitations, specifically insufficient memory bandwidth compared to the newer Hardware 4.
- Upgrading these vehicles to support FSD will require replacing both their onboard computers and camera systems, a complex and time-consuming process that Tesla plans to address by establishing “microfactories” in major cities to efficiently handle hardware swaps.
- Musk proposed a discounted trade-in program for owners to upgrade to AI4 hardware but provided no specific details or timeline for implementation.
- The CEO also indicated that the timeline for launching consumer-ready FSD will likely be delayed again, with a tentative target now set for the fourth quarter of the year.
- Tesla is shifting production at its Fremont factory from the Model S and Model X to focus on autonomous technology and upcoming Optimus robots, signaling a strategic move toward an autonomy-based future and potential vehicle rental services akin to Airbnb for self-driving cars.
