Tesla Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta applicants who own older car models are still patiently waiting for access to the FSD Beta program. Some applicants have shared their frustrations at camera upgrade issues which prevent them from becoming an FSD Beta user.
Camera Upgrade Issues
Tesla owners with older car models have reported their frustrations regarding camera upgrade requirements. Most of the owners are waiting to enter Tesla’s FSD Beta program.
The common issue is that owners receive camera upgrade notifications even after Tesla Service installed new cameras. It has caused great confusion among a number of Tesla community members waiting to become FSD Beta testers.
In correspondence with Teslarati, FSD Beta applicant Houman H. noted that his 2017 Model S with FSD had yet to receive access to Tesla’s Beta program. The Model S owner had upgraded his vehicle to Hardware 3. He also proactively contacted Tesla Service to get the necessary camera upgrade for his car.
Even after the upgrades, Houman H. did not receive FSD Beta access. Instead, he received another notice of his ineligibility for the program, stating that his Model S still needed camera upgrades. Confused, Houman H. contacted Tesla Service, thinking there must have been a mistake in their records as he had already upgraded his cameras.
Who is affected by the Camera Upgrade Issues?
A few Tesla owners who own older models talked to Teslarati about their challenges while patiently waiting for access to the FSD Beta program. Most—if not all—of the owners Teslarati spoke to have a Safety Score between 80 to 90 and purchased FSD at least a year ago.
Most owners with camera upgrade issues own vehicles from 2017 or older. A few other owners have posted about camera upgrade issues online.
“I have been patiently waiting since November 2021 for the FSD beta for my 2017 MS P100D when my cameras were upgraded and the MCU2 was installed. The vehicle was delivered with MCU1 and AP2.0. Safety score has always been 95 or above,” shared Powderkeg in the Tesla Motor Club (TMC) Forum.
“Recently the Tesla app version 4.14.2 allows the user to view if their vehicle is eligible for the FSD Beta. Much to my chagrin my vehicle shows that it is not eligible due to the cameras needing to be replaced. I know they were replaced at the time of the MCU2 upgrade because they are listed under the parts section,” the TMC member elaborated.
Tesla’s Response to the Camera Upgrade Issue
The TMC member and Houman H. worked with their local Tesla Service Center to solve their issues. They received different reasons for their camera upgrade issues.
In Houman H’s case, one of his upgraded cameras needed to be replaced. Tesla reportedly mentioned that some upgraded cameras in select cars needed to be replaced due to an unspecified issue.
“So apparently they didn’t have to replace all of them, they said that there was a problem with one of their replacement cameras that wasn’t working for many people, I think it was the front right side camera so for many of them they had to be replaced Even if they had already been upgraded. Therefore, doesn’t sound like it’s a true situation where all of them have to be replaced, but there are select cameras on select cars that have to be upgraded again due to some type of problem,” Houman H. told Teslarati.
Powderkeg also received information from his local Tesla Service Center. In his case, Tesla stated that all cameras need to be upgraded to run the final production FSD software.
Another Teslarati reader, Frank H., noted that he couldn’t upgrade his cameras, even after several requests to his Tesla Service Center. Frank H. paid for FSD, but has not been able to participate in Tesla’s beta program because of old cameras.
“I paid for FSD years ago but have been unable to participate in the beta program due to old cameras. Now FSD is in wide release and Tesla still has not upgraded my cameras after several requests. I am told: ‘We are currently experiencing a parts shortage on all parts necessary to perform FSD camera upgrade,’” Frank H. shared with Teslarati.
Are you having trouble getting into the FSD Beta program, too? I’d like to hear from you. Contact me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.
Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) showed a record attach rate at delivery for new vehicles in the third quarter of 2026.
75 percent of new vehicle deliveries in North America included a subscription to FSD software, up from 55 percent in the prior quarter, a 20-percentage-point sequential gain in the company’s most mature market.
Tesla Q3 2026 Earnings results: in-line revenues, slight beat on EPS
Tesla shed light on the Q3 Shareholder Deck that 75 percent of new deliveries came with an FSD subscription:
“FSD (Supervised)⁴ attach rate continued to grow, reaching over 75% of new vehicle deliveries in North America – our most mature market – a nearly twenty percentage point sequential increase. We believe that FSD is driving demand in markets where it is available, and we continue to work with regulators to get it approved in other markets. “
The higher attach rate accompanied strong growth in the overall FSD consumer base, as active subscriptions rose to 1.75 million, a 67 percent year-over-year increase. For the first time, more than half of paid customers are on the monthly subscription, which is priced at $99 per month in the U.S.
People are buying FSD with a car attached, not the other way around
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 21, 2026
The transition to subscriptions has accelerated since Tesla discontinued the one-time purchase option in most markets earlier this year. The recurring model improves revenue visibility and margins compared with large upfront payments. With three-quarters of North American deliveries now including FSD, the software is now an evidently large contributor to Tesla’s economics and ancillary revenue.
Geographic expansion remains important for further gains. FSD is now available in nine countries in the EU, and more than 100,000 customers have driven over 160 million kilometers. Tesla is pursuing broader EU-wide approval, with a related vote expected in December. Similar progress in additional markets could support higher attach rates beyond North America.
These results came as Tesla had a strong quarterly delivery performance of 486,532 vehicles in the quarter, which came with its largest passenger-vehicle backlog in four years. Battery supply continued to limit volume, but the company has pointed to FSD as a clear difference-maker that is helping sustain demand. As supervised capabilities improve, the attach rate will likely continue to improve.
At face value, it is a key measure of how Tesla is converting sales into autonomy progress.
Update: 10/22 10:51a – Para 1 consumers changed to “customers” for accuracy.
Tesla Cybercab units finally got a definitive date for when they will be able to be purchased by customers, ending speculation regarding whether the fully autonomous vehicle would be available in the near term.
During Tesla’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call on October 21, Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy said the company is aiming to begin delivering its purpose-built Cybercab robotaxi to customers before year-end.
🚨 In short, Cybercabs are slated to go to customers by end of the year. All units are going into Robotaxi fleet currently, per @larsmoravy
Cybercab will be “transport-as-a-service,” but vast majority of Cybercab will be “Tesla-owned,” @elonmusk says https://t.co/R8Qu8QWdmp
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 21, 2026
“We’re trying to get Cybercabs to customers by the end of this year, 2026,” Moravy said. He added that production is underway on the line at Gigafactory Texas, but “all of those are currently going to our own internal Robotaxi fleet.”
Moravy explained that as operations scale, Tesla will “mainly deliver fully designed autonomous vehicles to our customers,” with the Cybercab as the first such vehicle. Initial customer deliveries will start small while the company gains experience with delivery logistics, ownership models, fleet management, and operating autonomous vehicles outside its direct control.
CEO Elon Musk reinforced the limited nature of private sales, describing the Cybercab primarily as a “transport-as-a-service” offering rather than a personal ownership vehicle like the Model 3, Model Y, or upcoming Roadster. “The vast majority of the Cybercab stuff will be Tesla-owned and transport-as-a-service,” Musk said.
The Cybercab is a two-seater vehicle developed by Tesla without a steering wheel or pedals. It relies completely on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite and has been in production since February. Early units have been put in Tesla’s Robotaxi service as of early September, when the company launched rides to the public. Tesla previously indicated it would aim to sell Cybercabs for about $30,000.
Unsupervised Full Self-Driving is expected to ship to consumer cars during Q2 2027, Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Head of AI, indicated during the call. Early buyers or fleet operators may receive vehicles whose autonomous operation remains geographically restricted due to lagging regulatory agencies. There are some hurdles that remain ahead of Cybercab deliveries.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) reported its earnings for the third quarter of 2026, marking a reasonable performance on the various financial metrics. Tesla still plans to hold a call that will field investor questions at 5:30 p.m. ET, 4:30 p.m. CT.
Here’s where Earnings came in:
- Total Revenues: $28.046 reported vs. $28.34B expected
- Non-GAAP EPS: $0.48 reported vs. $0.45 expected
- Operating Margin: 2.6 % reported vs. 2.5% expected
- Operating Income: $718M reported vs. $721M expected
- Free Cash Flow: $1.531B reported vs. ~-$4.51B expected
Tesla $TSLA Earnings Results:
Revenues: $28.046B
Non-GAAP EPS: $0.48
Operating Margin: 2.6%
Operating Income: $718M
FCF: $1.531B— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 21, 2026
Major Takeaways
Full Self-Driving (Supervised)
“FSD (Supervised)⁴ attach rate continued to grow, reaching over 75% of new vehicle deliveries in North America – our most mature market – a nearly twenty percentage point sequential increase. We believe that FSD is driving demand in markets where it is available, and we continue to work with regulators to get it approved in other markets.”
Tesla Semi
“We began volume production of Tesla Semi, our Class 8 heavy-duty truck. The top variant can go 500 miles at full 82,000 lbs gross combination weight while achieving an efficiency of 1.7 kWh/mile. That efficiency allows the Tesla Semi to use a third of the energy used by a comparable diesel truck to haul the same payload. In a transportation market where energy is one of the largest components of total cost per mile, this will provide a meaningful advantage to Tesla Semi operators.”
SI Compute
“We plan to reach 400 MW of SI training compute by the end of the year, supporting the development of both vehicle and humanoid robot autonomy software. Additionally, we continued construction for the Austin Fab, where we plan to start commissioning equipment in 2027.”
Robotaxi
“We began deployment of Cybercab into our Robotaxi fleet in Austin. We reached nearly two million cumulative unsupervised miles for our Robotaxi service as of the end of the quarter. Operating hours in Austin are now 6am to midnight, and we expect to reduce wait times via increased fleet supply and improvement of Robotaxi orchestration algorithms. Grok is available in Cybercab with access to Grok Bot and Connectors, which allows users to manage their inbox, calendars, files, chats and tasks – all hands free via voice command – making Cybercab a mode of transport, a productivity space and, with our entertainment options, a second living room.”
Interested in ordering a Tesla? Use my referral code for three free months of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) here.
Tesla buyers are buying for Full Self-Driving and not for the car, data shows
Tesla Cybercab gets a for sale date at last
