For almost ten years, Elon Musk has been assuring Tesla customers that his cars would achieve full autonomous driving with just a couple of software updates. That is, if you bought a Tesla with the FSD (Full Self-driving) function, your car could drive itself without you having to do anything other than look out the window of your car. But now, after having to postpone this idea, Musk has admitted that the cars his brand have been manufacturing since 2019 do not have the necessary hardware to achieve this… The tycoon has confessed that it is a very complicated and difficult process, but what about those thousands of users who paid extra to have this autonomous driving? Have they lost their money forever? When is Tesla going to implement those actualizations? Let’s know.
Musk and an unfulfilled promise.
Back in 2016, Musk assured that his new vehicles would have enough hardware to achieve full autonomous driving, but time has spoken and has been displacing the older hardware versions leaving them completely obsolete, and it has not been one but four Tesla updates that have promised heaven but have given crumbs to its customers:
- Hardware 2.0 (2016): First version with the promise of full autonomy.
- Hardware 2.5 (2017): Some minor improvements, but not yet ready for unsupervised driving.
- Hardware 3.0 (2019-2023): Tesla assured that this was enough for “Full Self-Driving”, but now Musk says that it is not.
- Hardware 4.0 (2023-present): The newest version, which could be the first to allow true autonomous driving.
And what is the problem?
The problem is not that the update is taking too long, but that thousands of people paid more than $12,000 hoping that when this technology was ready, it would be implemented in their vehicles, and now they feel completely cheated by Tesla and its CEO, Musk (and we understand that perfectly)
What is the FSD system?
We already know that Tesla is the company that invests the most in innovation and technology, and one of the things that it stands out for (in addition to taking electric cars to another level in the automobile market) is having created the autonomous driving system, which, so far, is not completely autonomous. The current FSD update allows driving on streets and highways following traffic regulations, turning at intersections and stopping and starting at stop signs, for example.
It should be noted that the driver is still responsible for the vehicle, and that this is simply “an aid” to driving, but it is not 100% reliable. Much less will you be able to go to sleep or get out of the driver’s seat.
Legal problems for Tesla.
As usual, Tesla will not only have to deal with the technological problems of its updates, but also with legal consequences because many consumers sued the company for false advertising (because it sold an idea that later became clear that it was not real). And this led the case to trial, where a court has already ruled that Tesla must make the updates at no additional cost to the owners, that is, free of charge, so Tesla will have to spend money to fulfill its promises….
Is there light on the horizon for Tesla?
Yes, Tesla is planning to test the new hardware in Austin (Texas) starting next June, but it is still unclear whether customers with older cars will be able to update it.
What is clear is that Elon Musk has had to apologize and recognize that it has been a big setback for his company. What will happen from now on with Tesla? Will 100% autonomous driving finally be used? Only time will tell.