Tesla nonetheless doesn’t have a strong pathway for how you can give {Hardware} 3 vehicles Full Self-Driving (FSD) capabilities, based mostly on what Elon Musk mentioned through the firm’s latest earnings call. The automaker has identified for fairly some time that its automobiles outfitted with {Hardware} 3 aren’t able to unsupervised FSD, despite the fact that the corporate constructed the system particularly to give its cars the ability. Tesla used {Hardware} 3 on vehicles manufactured from 2019 till early 2023 earlier than {Hardware} 4 shipped.
Throughout an earlier earnings name again in January 2025, Musk admitted that the corporate was “going to should improve individuals’s {Hardware} 3 pc for people who have purchased Full Self-Driving.” At Tesla’s newest earnings name, Musk mentioned that {Hardware} 3 “merely doesn’t have the aptitude to attain unsupervised FSD.” Tesla thought it could be capable of at one level, however {Hardware} 3 apparently has 1/eighth the reminiscence bandwidth of {Hardware} 4. Musk defined that reminiscence bandwidth is “one of many key parts” wanted for unsupervised FSD.
Tesla will probably be providing to improve and change the computer systems and cameras on older automobiles, however it doesn’t have a concrete plan in place but. “I do suppose over time it’s going to make sense for us to transform all {Hardware} 3 vehicles to {Hardware} 4,” he mentioned. To take action at service facilities could be extraordinarily gradual, Musk has admitted. Round 4 million cars or so have {Hardware} 3, although not everybody has paid for FSD. Nonetheless, to have the ability to change its automobiles’ {hardware} effectively, Musk mentioned Tesla goes to should arrange “microfactories or small factories in main metropolitan areas.” He didn’t give any indication that Tesla has already began constructing these microfactories, although, and even that building is already scheduled to start. He did say that within the meantime, the corporate goes to be releasing FSD model 14 for {Hardware} 3 across the finish of June.
Musk additionally mentioned throughout the identical earnings name that Tesla’s Fremont manufacturing unit will begin manufacturing the corporate’s humanoid Optimus robots in late July or August. The Tesla CEO is thought for saying extremely optimistic and aggressive timelines. Tesla made the choice to kill off its Mannequin X and S vehicles earlier this yr, in order that it may well convert its Fremont facility into an Optimus manufacturing unit. The final Mannequin S and X automobiles will probably be rolling off the production line in Might, which provides the corporate just some months to dismantle the power’s present gear and put new ones in place.
