News
Tesla Model S, X with “Hardware 3” for Full Self-Driving now in production, inventory codes indicate
Tesla has begun producing Model X and Model S vehicles with the latest Autopilot hardware to support Full Self-Driving capabilities. Dubbed “HW3”, the new hardware is Tesla’s next iteration of its semi-autonomous driving-assist feature that includes Navigate on Autopilot, Advanced Summon, Auto Lane Change, Autopark, and the ability to respond to traffic lights.
Looking at the source code behind Tesla’s New Inventory site, we’re able to see that recently produced Model S and Model X with Autopilot have been given an “APH4” options code, signifying that these vehicles are equipped with the latest Full Self-Driving hardware. Tesla uses the option code sequence “APHx” to denote the type of Autopilot hardware installed in its vehicles. APH2 indicates HW2 and APH3 = HW2.5 (Autopilot 2.5). Thus, APH4 is HW3.
Here’s a side-by-side comparison of two 2019 Model S with and without the new Hardware 3 for Autopilot.
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- 2019 Tesla Model S with Hardware 2.5 (2019 Tesla Model S with “Hardware 3” (APH3)
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- 2019 Tesla Model S with “Hardware 3” (APH4)
Source: Tesla New Inventory listing
The tip comes to us from Tesla Info and Inventory, a web site which compiles inventory data for Tesla vehicles around the world, noted that internal vehicle “option codes” indicated a change from Hardware 2.5 to Hardware 3. The site pulls source data directly from Tesla’s car listing pages and analyzes the “config” data embedded in the HTML to determine this information.
This discovery aligns with the schedule for the HW3 installs previously set forth by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Last October, Musk estimated a 6-month wait before the the new chips would be installed in all new production cars, meaning an April showing.
~6 months before it is in all new production cars. No change to sensors. This is simple replacement of the Autopilot computer. Will be done free of charge for those who ordered full self-driving.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 16, 2018
Musk has touted HW3 as the “world’s most advanced computer designed specifically” for the purpose of self-driving functionality, with Tesla holding a notable lead in the field overall. “If you add everyone else up combined, they’re probably 5% — I’m being generous — of the miles that Tesla has. And this difference is increasing,” Musk said in Tesla’s 2018 Q4 earnings call.
For vehicles without HW3 installed at the time of manufacture, Musk has stressed the simplicity of the upgrade process in Tesla’s 2018 Q2 earnings call. “We take out one computer and plug in the next. That’s it. All the connectors are compatible and you get an order of magnitude, more processing and you can run all the cameras at primary full resolution with the complex neural net.”
The simple upgrade to HW3 does require Tesla cars to have HW2 as the equipment needed for its functionality was included in those vehicles. The software uses an array of 8 cameras, 12 ultrasonic sensors, and a forward-facing radar paired with Tesla’s vision and neural net system.
The first features of the Full Self-Driving suite were included in the Version 9 software released in October. “Navigate on Autopilot”, an active guidance feature with Autosteer for highway driving (with driver supervision) came soon after with the release of HW2.5. Improvement in performance from software Version 8.1. to 9.0 was increased by about 400% in useful operations per second; however, the difference between V9.0 and HW3 will make a difference of 500-2000%, according to Musk. Tesla has been releasing iterative over-the-air updates over the last year in preparation for the coming HW3 and complete FSD capabilities.
The current iteration of Tesla’s FSD capabilities includes core highway navigation, autopark, and Summon for car retrieval in parking lots. Recognition of traffic signs and signals as well as city street driving are expected to be coming later this year.
Now that HW3 is on its way to current and future Tesla customers, Full Self-Driving certainly feels right around the corner. However, the biggest obstacle to full implementation still sits on the regulation side, a time-consuming yet necessary part of the consumer vehicle industry, especially when a company is handing over responsibility to a computer. Tesla’s Autopilot page still references full self-driving capabilities as something “in the future” that may happen after regulatory approval which “may take longer in some jurisdictions.”
Tesla’s dominance in the all-electric market will most likely work in its favor to overcome the legal hurdles in the way of autonomous driving. As sales continue to rise with the growing number of customers now able to meet more affordable price points, Tesla will keep accumulating useful data to hone its FSD software and make the case for its much-safer-than-humans capabilities. Other companies may have long been battling the same regulatory demons Tesla is now up against, but the electric car was also “killed off” prior to their very influential arrival on the market. In “Musk World”, there is improbable, but not often impossible.
Elon Musk
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ordered the closure of an investigation involving Elon Musk and social media platform X. The inquiry had been pending for about two years and examined whether the platform was used to coordinate attacks against members of the judiciary.
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
According to a report from Agencia Brasil, the investigation conducted by the Federal Police did not find evidence that X deliberately attempted to attack the judiciary or circumvent court orders.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet concluded that the irregularities identified during the probe did not indicate fraudulent intent.
Justice Moraes accepted the prosecutor’s recommendation and ruled that the investigation should be closed. Under the ruling, the case will remain closed unless new evidence emerges.
The inquiry stemmed from concerns that content on X may have enabled online attacks against Supreme Court justices or violated rulings requiring the suspension of certain accounts under investigation.
Justice Moraes had previously taken several enforcement actions related to the platform during the broader dispute involving social media regulation in Brazil.
These included ordering a nationwide block of the platform, freezing Starlink accounts, and imposing fines on X totaling about $5.2 million. Authorities also froze financial assets linked to X and SpaceX through Starlink to collect unpaid penalties and seized roughly $3.3 million from the companies’ accounts.
Moraes also imposed daily fines of up to R$5 million, about $920,000, for alleged evasion of the X ban and established penalties of R$50,000 per day for VPN users who attempted to bypass the restriction.
Brazil remains an important market for X, with roughly 17 million users, making it one of the platform’s larger user bases globally.
The country is also a major market for Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, which has surpassed one million subscribers in Brazil.
Elon Musk
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr criticized Amazon after the company opposed SpaceX’s proposal to launch a large satellite constellation that could function as an orbital data center network.
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
Amazon recently urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s application to deploy a constellation of up to 1 million low Earth orbit satellites that could serve as artificial intelligence data centers in space.
The company described the proposal as a “lofty ambition rather than a real plan,” arguing that SpaceX had not provided sufficient details about how the system would operate.
Carr responded by pointing to Amazon’s own satellite deployment progress.
“Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” Carr wrote on X.
Amazon has declined to comment on the statement.
Amazon has been working to deploy its Project Kuiper satellite network, which is intended to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service. The company has invested more than $10 billion in the program and has launched more than 200 satellites since April of last year.
Amazon has also asked the FCC for a 24-month extension, until July 2028, to meet a requirement to deploy roughly 1,600 satellites by July 2026, as noted in a CNBC report.
SpaceX’s Starlink network currently has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit and serves roughly 10 million customers. The FCC has also authorized SpaceX to deploy 7,500 additional satellites as the company continues expanding its global satellite internet network.
Energy
Tesla Energy gains UK license to sell electricity to homes and businesses
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
Tesla Energy has received a license to supply electricity in the United Kingdom, opening the door for the company to serve homes and businesses in the country.
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
According to Ofgem, the license took effect at 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday and applies to Great Britain.
The approval allows Tesla’s energy business to sell electricity directly to customers in the region, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.
Tesla has already expanded similar services in the United States. In Texas, the company offers electricity plans that allow Tesla owners to charge their vehicles at a lower cost while also feeding excess electricity back into the grid.
Tesla already has a sizable presence in the UK market. According to price comparison website U-switch, there are more than 250,000 Tesla electric vehicles in the country and thousands of Tesla home energy storage systems.
Ofgem also noted that Tesla Motors Ltd., a separate entity incorporated in England and Wales, received an electricity generation license in June 2020.
The new UK license arrives as Tesla continues expanding its global energy business.
Last year, Tesla Energy retained the top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year. According to Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings, Tesla held about 15% of global market share in 2024.
The company also maintained a dominant position in North America, where it captured roughly 39% market share in the region.
At the same time, competition in the energy storage sector is increasing. Chinese companies such as Sungrow have been expanding their presence globally, particularly in Europe.
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
