In a recent discussion on X, Tesla CEO Elon Musk clarified that Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta access for the company’s Hardware 4 (HW4) will be delayed by at least six months. That timeline suggests at least February 2024.
The delay primarily affects owners and prospective buyers of Tesla’s latest vehicles, including the newest iterations of the Model S, Model X, and Model Y, which are equipped with HW4. We are still awaiting the ‘Highland’ Model 3 refresh and what hardware version will debut, with rumours claiming it may still be on some form of Hardware 3.
According to a question posed by Tesla owner Omar (@WholeMarsBlog), who was uncertain about which Tesla model to purchase. “I really want to buy a new Tesla but I don’t know what to get. A 3 or a Y? An S? Will I be stuck without beta for a long time on hardware 4? Are there some product updates imminent? I feel like this shouldn’t be so hard… what do you recommend I buy @elonmusk?”
In response, Musk tweeted, “HW4 software will lag HW3 by at least another six months, as our focus needs to be on getting FSD on HW3 working super well and provided internationally.”
HW4 software will lag HW3 by at least another six months, as our focus needs to be on getting FSD on HW3 working super well and provided internationally.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 27, 2023
Musk’s revelation means that while HW3 vehicles will continue to receive FSD updates, the newest Teslas equipped with HW4 will not gain beta access to these advanced self-driving features for at least another half-year. His statement underlines Tesla’s strategy of focusing on refining and deploying the FSD features on HW3 before rolling them out to the latest hardware.
Many responded to Musk to ask if there would be any refunds or credits for those that pre-paid for FSD beta access, or those on FSD beta subscriptions with HW4 vehicles, since they won’t have access to the software for at least six months. If we are to take Musk’s timeline into consideration, six months might be even longer.
Now, in Q3, Tesla is allowing owners a one-time transfer of FSD to a new vehicle. But it seems if the new vehicle has HW4, FSD beta won’t be available for at least 6 months. If you’ve been living with FSD beta to drive you around, losing it temporarily is really tough.
Last week, Musk shared the first live preview of FSD beta 12, which is based on only neural nets, live-streaming his Model S Plaid driving around Palo Alto trying to find Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg.
