Alberto de la Torre
WriterI've been a journalist and audiovisual communicator since 2016. My specialty is the automotive sector, where I’ve been analyzing the industry and its developments for more than five years. I'm particularly interested in new forms of mobility and the changes that cities are experiencing, especially in urban planning and the promotion of cycling and personal mobility vehicles.
Elon Musk’s leadership in Tesla has been marked by grandiose statements and promises that often lack credibility. One notable claim is that all Tesla vehicles will be able to upgrade to the most advanced self-driving system at no cost. However, Musk recently admitted that this won’t be the case for all drivers.
A crucial business strategy. Self-driving is a crucial part of Tesla’s future business strategy. The company said in 2023 that it could generate revenue solely from the software in its vehicles, potentially allowing it to monetize the cars without making any profit from the vehicles themselves.
Since then, Musk has been promoting the benefits of Tesla’s self-driving systems. The company has also hinted that it’s in discussions with third parties to supply its driving assistance systems. Moreover, there’s a promise that starting next year, Tesla’s robotaxis will be visible on the streets.
FSD. Within Tesla, autonomous driving is known as Full Self-Driving (FSD). This driving assistance system currently requires the driver to remain aware of their surroundings at all times and be ready to intervene if necessary.
The term “Full Self-Driving” has sparked controversy. Many consider it misleading advertising because it suggests capabilities beyond what the system can actually deliver. In comparison, other manufacturers seem to have advanced further in this area. For instance, Ford’s BlueCruise allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel while still maintaining attention. Meanwhile, Mercedes offers a system that doesn’t require the driver to pay attention in very specific circumstances.
Tesla markets its vehicles with two different packages. The basic package (Autopilot) includes features like adaptive cruise control and autosteer. The FSD package adds functionalities such as autonomous lane change and parking without human intervention, traffic and stop sign control, and more.
The eternal promise. FSD has been one of Tesla’s big promises in recent years. Purchasing a car with FSD costs an additional $8,000. Alternatively, buyers can activate it at a later date through Tesla’s website.
However, this future activation option is creating complications for Tesla. According to the FAQ section on its website:
“Autopilot is only available on Tesla vehicles built after September 2014, and functionality has changed over time based on the addition of new hardware and more powerful processing. For vehicles without Autopilot software, but are equipped with the necessary hardware, you can purchase Autopilot or Full Self-Driving (Supervised) at any time through the Tesla app–and the Autopilot software required will be added to your vehicle.”
A necessary update. Since 2016, Tesla has promised that all its vehicles would have the necessary hardware to support full self-driving capabilities, including “Level 5” features. This means the car can operate without human intervention, similar to a robotaxi.
In 2019, the company confirmed that the self-driving system would require more computing power. Then, it introduced the HW3, a computer specifically designed to enable these capabilities. Tesla promised that cars sold since 2016 would support these features and upgraded previously sold cars at no extra cost for interested drivers.
In 2023, Tesla once again needed to enhance the computing capabilities of its vehicles with new hardware. The much-anticipated HW4 arrived, which was expected to allow for fully self-driving capabilities. However, the company reassured drivers with HW3 vehicles that they didn’t need to worry–the new software would be optimized to ensure compatibility with their cars.
Not valid. A year later, in October 2024, Musk suggested that cars equipped with HW3 wouldn’t receive the latest advancements in self-driving. As such, they wouldn’t benefit from the FSD program.
“We are not 100% sure. HW4 has several times the capability of HW3. It’s easier to get things to work on HW4 and it takes a lot of efforts to squeeze that into HW3. There is some chance that HW3 does not achieve the safety level that allows for unsupervised FSD.”
According to Electrek, Tesla could face technical challenges when updating its cars. The outlet points out that the company can’t make HW3 compatible with FSD due to hardware limitations and how FSD operates in HW4 vehicles.
Free. Musk had previously said that if Tesla couldn’t make HW3 compatible with full self-driving capabilities, the company would initiate a free hardware update campaign for customers who had purchased vehicles with these features.
Musk later confirmed that all cars sold with the FSD package would be upgraded to HW4 at no cost. “We will need to replace all HW3 computers in vehicles where PSD was purchased,” he said during a recent Tesla earnings call.
Half-fulfilled promises. Notably, Musk clarified that only customers who added the PSD package at the time of purchase would receive the update for free in their cars. This excludes those who didn’t initially choose the package and later opted for a subscription to the driving assistance features.
As such, Tesla’s commitment is only half-fulfilled. The company initially promised that all cars purchased from 2016 onward would eventually be fully autonomous. However, it later indicated that this capability would only be available starting in 2019 for vehicles upgraded to HW3. Now, those who chose not to pay for FSD at the time of purchase and relied on the promise that they could subscribe later are finding out they’ll need to pay for a computer upgrade to access the most advanced self-driving features.
Image | Bram Van Oost
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