On October 24, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, announced that the company will provide free upgrades to hardware 4 (HW4/AI4) computers for users equipped with hardware 3 (HW3/AI3) and who have purchased the full self-driving (FSD) function. However, Musk also stressed that the upgrade will only be carried out if the HW3 chip cannot achieve unsupervised FSD functionality, and it is unclear whether this will happen.
According to IT House, in 2016 Musk announced that all Tesla models produced from then on would be equipped with "all the hardware needed to enable autonomous driving". Over time, however, Tesla came to realize that the computing power needed to achieve true autonomous driving far exceeded initial estimates.
A few years later, Tesla introduced the more powerful on-board computer HW3 and promised that all users who purchased the FSD software package before the HW3 upgrade would upgrade to the HW3 for free. With the launch of this new chip, Musk assures customers that the HW3 will be enough to achieve true self-driving capabilities.
Since then, Tesla has introduced the more powerful HW4 chip. However, this time the company didn't offer a free upgrade. Musk explained that the HW3 is already capable of fully autonomous driving, so upgrading to the HW4 is not necessary, and the cost and complexity of the upgrade also make it economically unfeasible.
While Musk said they are not sure yet whether the HW3 will be able to achieve unsupervised FSD, he has promised to provide owners with a free upgrade to the HW4 if it is determined that the HW3 cannot be achieved.
"It is possible that HW3 will not be able to reach a safe level that allows unsupervised FSD. If it turns out to be so, we will upgrade for free for those who have FSD functionality on HW3, and we will take care of those who have purchased FSD on HW3," Musk said on the Q3 2024 earnings call.
Interestingly, Musk said that they have designed the system to be upgradeable. He explained that computers are relatively easy to replace, while cameras don't need to be replaced because they are "capable," which clearly contradicts his previous claims about the cost and complexity of upgrades.