Elon Musk admits millions of Tesla owners need upgrades for true ‘Full Self-Driving’

Elon Musk recently revealed that a significant number of Tesla owners will need hardware upgrades to utilize an upcoming version of the Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, which aims to operate without human oversight. This acknowledgment comes after years of assurances from Musk and the company that such upgrades would not be necessary. During Tesla’s quarterly earnings call, Musk explained that vehicles equipped with the third generation of Tesla’s driver-assistance technology, referred to as "Hardware 3," will require new computers and cameras. He indicated that the scale of these replacements would be so extensive that Tesla is considering establishing "micro-factories" in key metropolitan areas to prevent overwhelming existing service centers. "If it’s done just at the service center, it is extremely slow to do so, and inefficient," Musk stated, emphasizing the need for a more streamlined production approach. Tesla owners who purchased vehicles with Hardware 3 have been seeking clarity for years regarding their ability to access this advanced version of Full Self-Driving, which is yet to be released or fully validated. These cars were sold between 2019 and 2023. Musk acknowledged that the limitations of Hardware 3 were insufficient for the more sophisticated iterations of FSD back in January 2025. "The honest answer is that we’re going to have to upgrade people’s Hardware 3 computer for those that have bought Full Self-Driving," he admitted. "That’s going to be painful and difficult, but we’ll get it done." Interestingly, Tesla’s chief financial officer, Vaibhav Taneja, had previously suggested just six months ago in October 2025 that there might still be a way to make Hardware 3 functional with the new software. "We have not completely given up on HW3," he stated at that time. Despite this, Tesla confirmed that it will continue to roll out slightly more advanced versions of the existing Full Self-Driving software for Hardware 3 users. Nevertheless, Musk was clear that for any significant upgrades, new hardware will be essential. "Hardware 3 simply does not have the capability to achieve unsupervised FSD," he concluded.