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’s Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles dominated the company’s global usage rankings after just one year, proving the concept is more than just a one-off novelty location that will fade away.
The performance could incite the company to build more locations, something that CEO Elon Musk has hinted at for some time.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner delivered 21.2 GWh of energy in its first year of operation, the company’s head of Charging, Max de Zegher, revealed on X. Of the top 10 most utilized Supercharger locations in Tesla’s global infrastructure, the Diner in Los Angeles was the most used by drivers, and it wasn’t particularly close:
Tesla Diner opened exactly 1 year ago. Inspiring that futuristic places like this exist.
It’s our highest usage Supercharger in the world: 21.2 GWh delivered in a year, 1.6k sessions/day.
Top 10 Superchargers by energy delivered: https://t.co/9YvJ8lw696 pic.twitter.com/koB3AUJHws
— Max (@MdeZegher) July 21, 2026
On its launch day one year ago, nobody was too sure what the Tesla Diner would be about. It seemed like an interesting concept, and considering it had been in the works for years, it was a highly anticipated launch that many were looking forward to.
Based on its success, we could see additional Diners with Superchargers built throughout the United States, and potentially beyond. Musk has said on several occasions that the company would be willing to bring the Diner idea to more markets.
Tesla makes major change at Supercharger Diner amid epic demand
Of the markets that Musk has mentioned, both Palo Alto and Austin have come to be perceived as ideal selections. However, there are no concrete plans as of now to build new Supercharger Diners anywhere; the location on Santa Monica Boulevard will remain the exclusive spot to pick up Tesla-inspired eats, at least for the time being.
Tesla short sellers won big following the company’s massive fall on Wall Street after it reported subpar Earnings on Wednesday.
Tesla short sellers collected about $4.12 billion in single-day profits on Thursday, according to Bloomberg. Shares fell as much as 15 percent during Thursday’s session. It closed as one of the worst days for Tesla on Wall Street in the past three years.
Investors sold off the stock after Tesla said it would aggressively direct its spending toward AI and its Optimus robot project. The company had record revenues, which were driven by one of the strongest quarters in terms of vehicle deliveries in company history.
However, it missed EPS estimates by reporting just $0.33, a far cry from the $0.53 analysts expected.
S3 Partners reported that about 3 percent of Tesla’s outstanding stock is sold short. Managing Director at S3, Ihor Dusaniwsky, provided the short seller’s potential profit, as well as another figure: shorts have likely had paper gains of $8.92 billion this year, as Tesla shares are down 30 percent in 2026.
Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue
Tesla has burned short sellers many times in the past, but the company’s latest Earnings Call was a chance for those skeptics to taste some payback. Although the company gave some very transparent information regarding future projects, the rollout of Robotaxi, Optimus, and Semi, many investors took their profits on Thursday.
Notable short sellers like Michael Burry have been transparent about their skepticism around Tesla shares. Burry just revealed three weeks ago that he had opened up a new short on the stock, stating he shorted Tesla shares at $416.22. “Happy it jumped back to this level,” he said in a blog post.
At the time of publication, Tesla shares were down about 3 percent and the stock was trading at $309.92.
Tesla’s long-standing saga regarding its door handles and a manual release has entered its latest chapter, and as a result, a big change is coming.
On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) denied Tesla’s petition that was seeking a defect investigation into roughly 180,000 Model 3 vehicles for an issue involving the emergency mechanical door release.
🚨 The NHTSA denied a petition from Tesla that would have thrown out concerns regarding its door handles.
NHTSA said Tesla’s petition did not present evidence of a safety-related defect warranting an investigation. The agency said a rulemaking process would be a better strategy. pic.twitter.com/j6PzUBM1mT
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 24, 2026
NHTSA said that Tesla’s petition did not present evidence of a safety-related defect in the door handles or their emergency releases. Instead, the agency determined that it would rather solve the issue of the lack of labeling or location of emergency mechanical door releases and the federal safety rules that govern them.
Essentially, the NHTSA wants to create and enforce rules that would require automakers to make emergency door latch releases more clearly labeled in a car. Despite a Tesla having manual door releases on all four passenger doors, many people do not know they exist or how they work.
Tesla addresses door handle complaints with simple engineering fix
In recent times, Tesla has faced some criticism involving its door handles, specifically because some occupants have reported that they are unable to exit their vehicles after losing power. The door handles on a Tesla are electronically operated, but in the event that the 12V battery dies, there is a manual release that can be used.
The NHTSA only identified a single complaint involving the mechanical door releases: a 2022 Model 3 owner said the release was concealed and unlabeled after the vehicle lost power after a front-end collision. It has also already started to create a separate rulemaking process to make emergency door-egress systems more obvious.
It should be noted that all Teslas have mechanical emergency door releases, but they are placed in various locations as the vehicles have aged and been redesigned from year to year. Refer to the safety manual for your vehicle if you have any confusion about where the emergency releases are and how they work.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner probably just secured more locations
Tesla short sellers win big after shares fall after earnings
