Tesla owners may need to visit new small factories for full self-driving upgrades

The upgrade path for Tesla owners who have purchased the full self-driving software but have older cars has proven messy and complicated.

To take full advantage of the software package that some Tesla owners have paid up to $15,000 for Eve Owners will need newer hardware that cannot be easily added. That could mean trading in or replacing a computer and camera at new microfactories across the country, according to Elon Musk.

Musk discussed options along the way Tesla Q1 2026 earnings call, I tell investors Due to hardware limitations of Tesla’s HW3 (Hardware 3) vehicles, those who purchased FSD will need to upgrade the hardware. The company began transitioning from the HW3 to the next hardware version, the AI4 (also known as the HW4), in early 2023.

“Unfortunately, HW3 simply does not have the ability to achieve unsupervised FSD,” Musk said on the call. “For customers who have purchased FSD, what we offer is essentially a discounted trade-in for cars that have AI4 hardware.”

Instead, customers will be offered the option to replace the car’s computer, but that would also require replacing the car’s cameras to access the devices 4. That would require Tesla to build “microfactories” across American cities to accommodate millions of potential upgrades, he said.

Musk also noted that the change could be beneficial for the company’s Robotaxi business; Any car that has been updated and upgraded to HW4 will be allowed to join the fleet.

like Inside EVs notedTesla has previously described the HW3 Tesla cars as being capable of full self-driving. The site notes that this was detailed in a blog post that has since been deleted.

A Tesla representative did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

Tesla came under scrutiny from the California DMV for how it marketed full self-driving, at one point Which leads to confrontation Which threatened to eliminate the company’s ability to sell cars in California. Tesla agreed to change its marketing and how it describes its Full Self-Driving features, which it had been using interchangeably with the term “Autopilot.”

Tesla might as well Raise the price From full self-driving to conversion To the subscription service Instead of purchasing the software once.