
Musk Admits Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Claims Are Wrong
Elon Musk has admitted that Tesla will have to upgrade the computers in its Hardware 3 cars built between 2019 and 2023 to support fully self-driving. “The honest answer is that we’re going to have to upgrade the Hardware 3 computers of those who bought Full Self-Driving. It’s going to be painful and difficult, but we’re going to do it,” Musk said.
The admission contradicts the company’s 2016 claim that every Tesla built had the hardware to support fully self-driving. That promise, since removed from Tesla’s website, has kept the company’s valuation high for years.
After ending its partnership with Mobileye, the supplier of the first Autopilot computers, Tesla rolled out its own Hardware 2.0 solution, then Hardware 2.5. When Hardware 3 arrived in 2019, owners of older versions had to upgrade their computers to use supervised Full Self-Driving.
Tesla initially charged for the upgrade until one owner won a lawsuit where a judge ruled the 2016 promises were “false advertising” and ordered the upgrades to be provided for free.
This isn’t the first time Musk has failed to deliver on his promises to release fully autonomous Tesla vehicles.