Tesla continues to face questions regarding its commitment to Hardware 3 (HW3) owners who were promised full autonomous driving capabilities. During the Q2 2026 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk was asked directly about the company's strategy for upgrading these older vehicles to run the latest Full Self-Driving (FSD) software.
Lack of a Firm Commitment
Rather than providing a definitive timeline or technical solution, Musk offered a variety of potential options and non-committal estimates. This lack of clarity is particularly concerning for the millions of customers who purchased vehicles under the marketing claim that their cars already possessed 'all the hardware necessary' for future self-driving updates.
As Tesla pushes forward with more advanced hardware iterations, the gap between the capabilities of HW3 and the requirements for the latest FSD software appears to be widening. Without a clear upgrade path, Tesla risks alienating a significant portion of its early adopter customer base.
