Tesla admits HW3 limits

Tesla has admitted that about 4 million cars built with its Hardware 3 computer cannot run the unsupervised version of Full Self-Driving. (finance.yahoo.com) On Tesla’s April 22 earnings call, Elon Musk said Hardware 3 lacks the memory bandwidth needed for unsupervised driving, and that Hardware 4 has eight times the memory bandwidth. Tesla installed Hardware 3 in vehicles built from 2019 into early 2023. (finance.yahoo.com) Tesla said owners who bought the Full Self-Driving package will get two paths: a retrofit with newer computer-and-camera hardware or a discounted trade-in toward a Hardware 4 vehicle. Musk said service centers are too slow for that volume and Tesla is studying “microfactories” in major metro areas to do the swaps. (finance.yahoo.com) The technical issue is simple: the self-driving computer has to move data from cameras and neural networks fast enough to make driving decisions in real time. Musk said memory bandwidth is one of the key limits, and that Hardware 3 “simply does not have the capability” for unsupervised Full Self-Driving. (finance.yahoo.com) That admission cuts against years of Tesla marketing that said cars had the hardware needed for future autonomy through software updates. Tesla’s own support page still says its AI computer is designed to process neural networks for future safety and autonomy functions, and it already offers free computer upgrades for some older Full Self-Driving buyers with Hardware 2.0 or 2.5. (tesla.com) Tesla made the disclosure while telling investors it launched unsupervised Robotaxi rides in Dallas and Houston in April. Its Robotaxi page says the service is currently offered in Austin, Dallas and Houston using Model Y vehicles, while Cybercab rides are planned for the future. (tesla.com, (tesla.com)) The same quarterly update said Tesla has “further prepared lines” for the start of Cybercab production, after earlier saying Cybercab and Tesla Semi production ramps were set to commence in the first half of 2026. Tesla did not say in the update how many Cybercabs have been built so far. (tesla.com, (tesla.com)) Musk’s latest comments also extend a shift that started in January 2025, when he said Tesla would likely have to replace Hardware 3 computers for buyers who paid for Full Self-Driving. By October 2025, Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja was still saying Tesla had “not completely given up on HW3,” according to the Yahoo report. (finance.yahoo.com) Tesla is now trying to advance two tracks at once: keep supervised Full Self-Driving improving in customer cars, and build a separate unsupervised robotaxi business on newer hardware. The company’s first-quarter update said active driver supervision is still required for Full Self-Driving (Supervised), even as Tesla expands Robotaxi service in Texas. (tesla.com, (tesla.com))