Elon Musk has once again acknowledged that Tesla’s previous claims about Full Self-Driving (FSD) capabilities were premature.
In a conference call on Wednesday, Musk admitted that Tesla vehicles equipped with Hardware 3—the computer system powering cars sold between 2019 and 2023—will need an upgrade before they can support unsupervised autonomous driving.
Tesla’s Broken Promise on Full Autonomy
“I think the honest answer is that we’re going to have to upgrade people’s Hardware 3 computer for those that have bought Full Self-Driving,” Musk said. “That’s going to be painful and difficult, but we’ll get it done.”
This revelation marks another instance of Tesla backtracking on its long-standing promise that all vehicles produced since 2016 would be capable of full autonomy with a simple software update.
The company previously claimed that its cars were built with all the necessary hardware, and that future software improvements would unlock self-driving capabilities. However, Tesla has since removed that claim from its website, signaling a shift in its messaging.
A History of Unrealistic Autonomy Claims
Tesla first made bold autonomy claims in October 2016, shortly after splitting from Mobileye, its former Autopilot hardware provider. The company introduced its own in-house system, called Hardware 2.0, followed by an incremental upgrade, Hardware 2.5, a year later.
Neither of these versions proved sufficient for Tesla’s FSD vision, leading to the introduction of Hardware 3 in 2019. At that time, Tesla required owners of older models to upgrade to the new system to use its FSD software, a move that led to a small claims lawsuit.
A judge ruled that Tesla’s 2016 statements amounted to false advertising, forcing the company to offer the upgrades for free.
What About Hardware 4?
More recently, Tesla has started producing vehicles equipped with Hardware 4, raising concerns among Hardware 3 owners about the long-term viability of their vehicles’ autonomy capabilities.
While Musk and other Tesla executives initially reassured customers that software improvements would enable Hardware 3 cars to drive themselves, the CEO has now conceded that such a goal is unlikely.
Tesla Faces Growing Competition in Self-Driving Tech
Musk’s latest admission comes as Tesla faces increasing competition in the autonomous driving space. Unlike Tesla’s driver-assistance system, Waymo has already deployed fully autonomous robotaxis in multiple cities without requiring human supervision.
Despite Tesla’s setbacks, Musk remains optimistic, stating that the company will launch a pilot program in Austin this June to prove its FSD capabilities.
He also hinted that 2025 could be Tesla’s most transformative year yet, as the company plans to release a major software update for Hardware 4 vehicles that could bring them closer to true self-driving functionality.
Another Broken Promise?
However, given Tesla’s history of delays and shifting goalposts, industry observers remain skeptical.
For now, Tesla owners who purchased FSD under the assumption that their cars were already equipped for full autonomy may find themselves in a frustrating predicament—waiting for yet another hardware upgrade to fulfill a promise made nearly a decade ago.
