Tesla is finally telling the truth about fully self-driving cars in old cars, and hope in the dark
For years, Tesla owners with Hardware 3 vehicles (sold between 2019 and 2023) have been waiting for a software update that enables fully autonomous driving. However, on April 22, 2026, during Tesla’s quarterly call, Elon Musk finally got the answer, and not everyone was optimistic.
Musk confirmed that cars using the company’s third-generation hardware cannot achieve Full Self-Driving unsupervised by software alone; vehicles require physical hardware upgrades. In other words, about four million vehicles sold worldwide cannot achieve FSD (via TechCrunch).
What exactly does Musk say about FSD in Hardware 3 cars?
“Hardware 3 doesn’t have the ability to detect unsupervised FSD,” Musk said on the phone. Instead, Tesla’s Hardware 3 cars need a new computer and new cameras to unlock the promise of FSD (over the air updates) that the company has been doing for years.
Now, FSD has been one of the selling points that have led many buyers to buy cars in the first place. That’s why this announcement is disappointing for owners who bought their Tesla EVs between 2019 and 2023.
Given below is a table containing the names of the Hardware 3 models.
| Model | Kind of | Time for HW3 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model S & Model X | To restore | October 2016 – Mar 2019 | Originally shipped with HW2.0 or HW2.5; free upgrade to HW3 |
| Model 3 | To restore | 2017 – mid 2019 | Early units shipped with HW2.5; re-installed in HW3 |
| Model S & Model X | Factory Built | Mar 2019 – Jan 2023 | Shipped standard with HW3 from the factory |
| Model 3 | Factory Built | April 2019 – late 2023 | Standard until “Highland” restart (Oct 2023 most markets; Jan 2024 US) |
| Model Y | Factory Built | 2020 – May 2023 (US) | Vehicles made in the US until May 2023; other models produced in China in late Feb 2024 |
So, what happens to Hardware 3 owners?
For now, they are not completely left out. While Tesla will continue to release incremental FSD software updates for its Hardware 3 vehicles, anything approaching true autonomy requires the hardware upgrades we discussed earlier.
The scale of the work, naturally, is large enough that the company is exploring building “mini-factories” in major cities to handle the work; existing service centers cannot control the volume of development on their own.
Worse, Tesla has yet to publicly confirm whether the hardware upgrade will be free for consumers who have pre-paid for FSD power or will incur additional costs. There are rumors about a discounted trade-in program, which means owners can trade in their Hardware 3 car for a discount on the new Hardware 4 model, but Tesla hasn’t confirmed anything yet.
I can say that Tesla understands the reputation and legality of doing nothing, and that the owners get free upgrades or face additional costs (after paying the FSD supplement) can determine whether this acceptance becomes a gesture of kindness from the company or causes a backlash among consumers.
