Elon Musk has made a new statement about Full Self-Driving software that reassured owners of Tesla vehicles with HW3, but it is going bum out owners of more recent Tesla vehicles with HW4.
Hardware 4.0 (HW4) is Tesla’s latest suite of Autopilot/self-driving sensors and a new FSD computer. The new hardware, which adds radar and new cameras all around the vehicle, has already been deployed in most of Tesla’s vehicle lineup.
While Tesla was expected to keep upgrading its self-driving hardware, the move to HW4 was concerning for many Tesla owners because the automaker had yet to deliver the features it promised for vehicles with HW3.
There’s a fear that Tesla won’t keep its promise to deliver self-driving technology to vehicles and that it will need the new hardware – HW4, which is not retrofittable – to achieve the goal.
CEO Elon Musk has tried to squash that fear by saying that Tesla is still committed to delivering self-driving on HW3 cars through software updates.
Now, in a new comment on X (formerly Twitter), he has gone a bit further by warning HW4 owners that their software will be about six months behind HW3 cars as Tesla focuses on delivering software updates and improvements to the latter:
HW4 software will lag HW3 by at least another six months, as our focus needs to be on getting FSD on HW3 working super well and provided internationally.
That should be reassuring to HW3 owners, but it is going to be a bummer for owners of newer Tesla vehicles who are still waiting on features powered by the Autopilot/Self-Driving hardware.
If you believe Musk’s timeline, they might not have to wait for much longer since he claims that Tesla will achieve this “super well” working level on HW3 by the end of the year, but he has been wrong about timing many times.
Electrek’s Take
Top comment by Damon Ekstrom
Show me a Tesla that can use Enhanced Autopilot well, and then maybe I'll start to believe in FSD. Ever since the USS were removed at the end of 2022, features like Park Assist, Summon, and Smart Summon STILL don't work accurately since vision-based detection is nowhere near as accurate as the sensors themselves. Adding insult to injury, Tesla is still charging $6,000 dollars for that package of software.
Until Autopilot/FSD can perform basic functions like parking and summon and do it well, then I will never fully buy into the idea that these cars can become robo-taxis. Personally I find it absurd that I have to pay extra for summon and parking given how costly these vehicles already are, but that's just me.
I love my Model 3, but until Tesla has managed to convince the NHTSA that Autopilot/FSD can be anything more than a Level 2 system, then I will continue to pay no mind to anything other than normal Autopilot.
That brings some welcomed clarity to the plan with HW3/HW4.
On the other side, any slip on the HW3 timeline, which is likely based on historical performance, will result in HW4 owners having to wait a long time.
Personally, I’m still more optimistic about HW4 because the software is already years behind, so six months is nothing. I prefer having the potential for better performance from the hardware.
At the same time, there’s going to be HW5 and HW6, etc.
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