It appears that Tesla is getting faster with its Hardware 3 retrofits, with recent reports from the electric car community suggesting that the upgrade could now take as short as a few hours. This suggests a notable improvement in the turnaround times for HW3 upgrades, especially since previous anecdotes from Tesla owners indicated that the process could take as long as a few days.
Elon Musk has noted that Hardware 3 retrofits will be available for electric cars equipped with HW2 and HW2.5, and whose owners purchased the company’s Full Self-Driving suite. The CEO has also mentioned in the past that retrofits should not take too long, and that Tesla’s mobile service fleet should be able to accomplish the upgrade without any difficulties.
Initial accounts of Hardware 3 retrofits suggested that this was indeed the case. A Tesla Model X P100D owner who runs the Electric Dreams YouTube channel reported back in December that his HW3 retrofit only took a few hours, thanks to a member of Tesla’s Mobile Service team coming over to his home to perform the upgrade. In the case of the Model X owner, the mobile service technician started the retrofit in the morning and completed the upgrade by night.
As Tesla started ramping its Hardware 3 retrofits, it quickly became evident that not all owners will experience the same convenience as related by the Electric Dreams host. Tesla Model 3 owner and enthusiast Tesla Joy, for example, noted that her vehicle’s upgrade ended up taking over five days. This was highly inconvenient, particularly as it resulted in the Model 3 being stuck in the Service Center during New Year’s.
Similar complaints from fellow Model 3 owners suggested that Joy’s experience was not an isolated case. Fellow Model 3 owner Greg Wester, for one, claimed that his Service Center advised him that his HW3 retrofit will take a whole week to complete because of the “disassembly and troubleshooting” that will be involved. Similar to Joy, Wester was given Uber vouchers due to the absence of loaner vehicles.
More recent reports from Tesla owners suggest that Hardware 3 retrofits are now far quicker and more efficient. Tesla owner-enthusiast Tesla Raj recently shared that his Model 3, which was dropped off at a Service Center at 8:30 am, will be fully upgraded by 3:30 pm on the same day. Other Tesla owners commenting on Raj’s tweet shared similar stories, with some stating that their retrofits were also completed within the same day. Even vehicles that had to be left overnight for the retrofit were ready to get back on the road the following day.
Overall, it appears that Tesla is now at a point where its HW3 retrofit process is getting quicker turnaround times. Recent anecdotes from electric car enthusiast @stillstainless noted that the Tesla Lynnwood WA Service Center was actually able to complete a HW3 upgrade in just 2 hours 20 minutes. During this time, the vehicle’s owner reportedly just opted to wait, instead of acquiring a loaner vehicle.
Elon Musk has suggesting in the past that the HW3 retrofit will be a quick, simple process that could be performed by mobile service technicians without any issue. Based on the most recent reports from the Tesla community, it appears that the electric car maker is getting closer to Elon Musk’s estimates. This bodes well for Tesla’s push into the autonomous driving market, especially since Hardware 3 is an important part of the full self-driving puzzle that the company is trying to solve.
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Ford is charging for a basic EV feature on the Mustang Mach-E
When ordering a new Ford Mustang Mach-E, you’ll now be hit with an additional fee for one basic EV feature: the frunk.
Ford is charging an additional fee for a basic EV feature on its Mustang Mach-E, its most popular electric vehicle offering.
Ford has shuttered its initial Model e program, but is venturing into a more controlled and refined effort, and it is abandoning the F-150 Lightning in favor of a new pickup that is currently under design, but appears to have some favorable features.
However, ordering a new Mustang Mach-E now comes with an additional fee for one basic EV feature: the frunk.
The frunk is the front trunk, and due to the lack of a large engine in the front of an electric vehicle, OEMs are able to offer additional storage space under the hood. There’s one problem, though, and that is that companies appear to be recognizing that they can remove it for free while offering the function for a fee.
Ford is now charging $495 on the Mustang Mach-E frunk (front trunk). What are your thoughts on that? pic.twitter.com/EOzZe3z9ZQ
— Alan of TesCalendar 📆⚡️ (@TesCalendar1) February 24, 2026
Ford is charging $495 for the frunk.
Interestingly, the frunk size varies by vehicle, but the Mustang Mach-E features a 4.7 to 4.8 cubic-foot-sized frunk, which measures approximately 9 inches deep, 26 inches wide, and 14 inches high.
When the vehicle was first released, Ford marketed the frunk as the ultimate tailgating feature, showing it off as a perfect place to store and serve cold shrimp cocktail.
Ford Mach-E frunk is perfect for chowders and chicken wings, and we’re not even joking
It appears the decision to charge for what is a simple advantage of an EV is not going over well, as even Ford loyal customers say the frunk is a “basic expectation” of an EV. Without it, it seems as if fans feel the company is nickel-and-diming its customers.
It will be pretty interesting to see the Mach-E without a frunk, and while it should not be enough to turn people away from potentially buying the vehicle, it seems the decision to add an additional charge to include one will definitely annoy some customers.
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Tesla to improve one of its best features, coding shows
According to the update, Tesla will work on improving the headlights when coming into contact with highly reflective objects, including road signs, traffic signs, and street lights. Additionally, pixel-level dimming will happen in two stages, whereas it currently performs with just one, meaning on or off.
Tesla is looking to upgrade its Matrix Headlights, a unique and high-tech feature that is available on several of its vehicles. The headlights aim to maximize visibility for Tesla drivers while being considerate of oncoming traffic.
The Matrix Headlights Tesla offers utilize dimming of individual light pixels to ensure that visibility stays high for those behind the wheel, while also being considerate of other cars by decreasing the brightness in areas where other cars are traveling.
Here’s what they look like in action:
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- Credit: u/ObjectiveScratch | Reddit
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- Credit: u/ObjectiveScratch | Reddit
As you can see, the Matrix headlight system intentionally dims the area where oncoming cars would be impacted by high beams. This keeps visibility at a maximum for everyone on the road, including those who could be hit with bright lights in their eyes.
There are still a handful of complaints from owners, however, but Tesla appears to be looking to resolve these with the coming updates in a Software Version that is currently labeled 2026.2.xxx. The coding was spotted by X user BERKANT:
🚨 Tesla is quietly upgrading Matrix headlights.
Software https://t.co/pXEklQiXSq reveals a hidden feature:
matrix_two_stage_reflection_dip
This is a major step beyond current adaptive high beams.
What it means:
• The car detects highly reflective objects
Road signs,… pic.twitter.com/m5UpQJFA2n— BERKANT (@Tesla_NL_TR) February 24, 2026
According to the update, Tesla will work on improving the headlights when coming into contact with highly reflective objects, including road signs, traffic signs, and street lights. Additionally, pixel-level dimming will happen in two stages, whereas it currently performs with just one, meaning on or off.
Finally, the new system will prevent the high beams from glaring back at the driver. The system is made to dim when it recognizes oncoming cars, but not necessarily objects that could produce glaring issues back at the driver.
Tesla’s revolutionary Matrix headlights are coming to the U.S.
This upgrade is software-focused, so there will not need to be any physical changes or upgrades made to Tesla vehicles that utilize the Matrix headlights currently.
Elon Musk
xAI’s Grok approved for Pentagon classified systems: report
Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations.
Elon Musk’s xAI has signed an agreement with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to allow Grok to be used in classified military systems.
Previously, Anthropic’s Claude had been the only AI system approved for the most sensitive military work, but a dispute over usage safeguards has reportedly prompted the Pentagon to broaden its options, as noted in a report from Axios.
Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations.
The publication reported that xAI agreed to the Pentagon’s requirement that its technology be usable for “all lawful purposes,” a standard Anthropic has reportedly resisted due to alleged ethical restrictions tied to mass surveillance and autonomous weapons use.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to meet with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in what sources expect to be a tense meeting, with the publication hinting that the Pentagon could designate Anthropic a “supply chain risk” if the company does not lift its safeguards.
Axios stated that replacing Claude fully might be technically challenging even if xAI or other alternative AI systems take its place. That being said, other AI systems are already in use by the DoD.
Grok already operates in the Pentagon’s unclassified systems alongside Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google is reportedly close to an agreement that will result in Gemini being used for classified use, while OpenAI’s progress toward classified deployment is described as slower but still feasible.
The publication noted that the Pentagon continues talks with several AI companies as it prepares for potential changes in classified AI sourcing.
Ford is charging for a basic EV feature on the Mustang Mach-E
Tesla to improve one of its best features, coding shows
