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Tesla Model 3 gets Full Self-Driving HW3 upgrade: Full details with lessons learned
True to Elon Musk’s expectations on Twitter last month, it appears that Tesla is now looking to ramp Hardware 3 retrofits for owners who purchased the Full Self-Driving suite and whose cars are equipped with HW2 or HW2.5. A recent account involving a Tesla owner-enthusiast’s experience with her Model 3’s HW3 upgrade shows that there are still some areas in the retrofit process that can be improved.
Tesla Model 3 owner-enthusiast TeslaJoy was looking to do a video on the company’s recent voice command update when she noticed that the feature on her vehicle was not working properly. This prompted her to make an appointment with Tesla to get her car checked in and fixed. During the troubleshooting process, she inquired if a possible HW3 retrofit could be done to her vehicle as well. Fortunately, a HW3 unit was available for her Model 3, and so, a rather eventful upgrade process began.
Tesla Service Centers currently receive batches of HW3 units from the electric car maker, and each unit is assigned to a specific VIN. This is the reason why for now, at least, owners are not advised to call Tesla to schedule a HW3 retrofit. Fortunately for Joy, the Tesla Service Center opted to perform the HW3 upgrade at the same time as her appointment, since she would need to bring her Model 3 back for a retrofit anyway.
Since the retrofit was estimated to take around 5 hours, Tesla asked the Model 3 owner to leave her car for the day and claim it the next business day. That was December 31, which meant that the vehicle should be ready the day after New Year’s. As it would turn out, the Service Center would end up encountering difficulties installing the necessary firmware on Joy’s Model 3. This resulted in delays, which culminated in the vehicle’s HW3 retrofit being completed on January 5, 2020, over five days after the Model 3 owner turned in her car.
Hardware 3 retrofits are available for owners who have purchased Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite, and whose cars are still equipped with the company’s HW2 and HW2.5 units. With Hardware 3 installed, owners will be able to utilize the full suite of FSD capabilities that the company is rolling out today. One of these is the FSD preview that Tesla rolled out for the holidays, as well as features like traffic cone recognition.
True to Elon Musk’s words on Twitter, the HW3 retrofit is free for owners who have purchased the company’s FSD suite. Joy, for her part, was able to get FSD last March at a discounted price of $2,000 on top of her Enhanced Autopilot. FSD currently costs $7,000 when it is included in a new vehicle’s order.
Based on Joy’s experience, it appears that owners should expect to wait some time for their vehicles are set to be retrofitted. In the Model 3 owner’s case, her car’s upgrade ended up taking days since the first HW3 kit that was installed did not function properly. This resulted in the vehicle essentially getting retrofitted twice, causing delays. Tesla did give Joy a $500 Uber voucher due to the absence of loaner vehicles, but the whole experience showed notable points for improvement nonetheless.
In a way, TeslaJoy‘s experience with her Model 3’s HW3 retrofit stands in stark contrast with the experiences of Model S owner Sofiaan Fraval, whose car was upgraded by a Service Center during a voluntary HEPA replacement. In Fraval’s case, his Model S was fully retrofitted within a matter of hours, and it was calibrated in pretty much the same day. A Tesla Model S owner who runs the Electric Dreams YouTube channel also received his vehicle’s HW3 retrofit without any issues, and it was performed by a mobile technician, not a Service Center.
In the Electric Dreams host’s case, the entire HW3 retrofit was conducted from the convenience of his home, with a mobile service tech coming over in the morning, taking an hour and a half for the installation to be completed, and an additional two hours for the necessary firmware to be loaded onto the vehicle. This is in line with Elon Musk’s previous statement on Twitter, where he stated that HW3 retrofits should be possible through Tesla’s mobile service fleet.
Overall, there seems to be a variance with regards to the experience of owners when getting their vehicles retrofitted with Tesla’s FSD computer. Some owners seem to be experiencing a seamless, painless process, while some, like Joy, end up having to test their patience. Hopefully, as Tesla ramps its HW3 retrofits this quarter, the company could work in optimizing its upgrade process, so there are more experiences like the Electric Dreams host’s, and less like TeslaJoy‘s.
Watch TeslaJoy‘s HW3 experience in the video below.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk outlines expectations for Cybercab production
“…initial production is always very slow and follows an S-curve. The speed of production ramp is inversely proportionate to how many new parts and steps there are. For Cybercab and Optimus, almost everything is new, so the early production rate will be agonizingly slow, but eventually end up being insanely fast.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk outlined expectations for Cybercab production as the vehicle is officially set to start rolling off manufacturing lines at the company’s Giga Texas factory in less than 100 days.
Cybercab is specifically designed and catered to Tesla’s self-driving platform and Robotaxi ride-hailing service. The company has been pushing hard to meet its self-set expectations for rolling out an effective self-driving suite, and with the Cybercab coming in under 100 days, it now needs to push for Unsupervised Self-Driving in the same time frame.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirms Robotaxi is set to go unsupervised
This is especially pertinent because the Cybercab is expected to be built without a steering wheel or pedals, and although some executives have said they would build the car with those things if it were necessary.
However, Musk has maintained that the Cybercab will not have either of those things: it will have two seats and a screen, and that’s it.
With production scheduled for less than 100 days, Musk broke down what people should expect from the initial manufacturing phases, being cautiously optimistic about what the early stages will likely entail:
“…initial production is always very slow and follows an S-curve. The speed of production ramp is inversely proportionate to how many new parts and steps there are. For Cybercab and Optimus, almost everything is new, so the early production rate will be agonizingly slow, but eventually end up being insanely fast.”
Musk knows better than most about the challenges of ramping up production of vehicles. With the Model 3, Musk routinely refers to it as “production hell.” The Cybertruck, because of its polarizing design and stainless steel exterior, also presented challenges to Tesla.
With the important caveat that initial production is always very slow and follows an S-curve.
The speed of the production ramp is inversely proportionate to how many new parts and steps there are.
For Cybercab and Optimus, almost everything is new, so the early production…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 20, 2026
The Cybercab definitely presents an easier production process for Tesla, and the company plans to build millions of units per year.
Musk said back in October 2024:
“We’re aiming for at least 2 million units a year of Cybercab. That will be in more than one factory, but I think it’s at least 2 million units a year, maybe 4 million ultimately.”
When April comes, we will find out exactly how things will move forward with Cybercab production.
Tesla has revealed an awesome Model 3 and Model Y incentive to help consumers make the jump to one of its affordable mass-market vehicles, but it’s ending soon.
Tesla is offering one free upgrade on eligible inventory of the Model 3 and Model Y until February 2.
This would help buyers receive the most expensive paid option on the vehicle at no additional cost, meaning white interior or a more premium paint option will be free of charge if you take delivery on or before February 2.
Tesla states on its website for the offer:
“Only for limited inventory while supplies last. Price displayed on inventory listings already deducts the cost of the free option.”
Tesla says its one free upgrade offer on eligible U.S. inventory for the Model 3 and Model Y ends February 2.
With this incentive, buyers receive the most expensive paid option on the vehicle at no additional cost (up to $2k in savings). pic.twitter.com/IhoiURrsDI
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) January 21, 2026
This latest incentive is just another advantage Tesla has by selling its vehicles directly and not using some sort of dealership model that relies on approvals from higher-ups. It is important to note that these programs are offered to help stimulate demand and push vehicles into customers’ hands.
It is not the only incentive Tesla is currently offering, either. In fact, there is a much larger incentive program that Tesla is working on, and it has to do with Full Self-Driving transfers, which could result in even more sales for the company through Q1.
Tesla is ending its FSD Transfer program on March 31, as it plans to transition to a Subscription-only basis with the self-driving suite for anyone who has not already purchased it outright.
This could help drive some on-the-fence buyers to new vehicles, but it remains to be seen. Given the timing of the program’s demise, it appears Tesla is hoping to use it to add additional sales and bolster a strong Q1 2026.
Interior and exterior paint colors can add up to $2,000 if you choose the most premium Ultra Red body color, or an additional $1,000 for the Black and White interior option. The discount, while small, could help get someone their preferred design configuration, instead of settling for something that is not quite what they want.
Tesla Full Self-Driving is getting an outrageous insurance offer with insanely cheap rates that will slash the cost of coverage by 50 percent.
Lemonade, a digital insurance company, has launched its first-of-a-kind product known as Lemonade Autonomous Car Insurance, and it is starting with an exclusive offer to FSD. The new offer will cut rates for FSD-engaged driving by “approximately 50 percent,” highlighting the data that shows a significantly safer driving environment when the suite is activated and engaged.
The company also said it plans to introduce even cheaper rates as Tesla continues to release more advanced FSD versions through software updates. Tesla has been releasing new FSD versions every few weeks, highlighting vast improvements for those who have the latest AI4 chip.
The announcement comes just a few months afterLemonade Co-Founder and President Shai Wininger said that he wanted to insure FSD vehicles for “almost free.” He said that Tesla’s API complemented Lemonade’s AI-based platform because it provides “richer and more accurate driving behavior data than traditional UBI devices.”
Tesla Full Self-Driving gets an offer to be insured for ‘almost free’
In mid-December, Lemonade then offered Tesla owners in California, Oregon, and Arizona the opportunity to connect their vehicles directly to the company’s app, which would provide a direct connection and would require a separate telematics device, which is required with other insurance providers who offer rates based on driving behaviors.
This latest development between Lemonade and Tesla is something that Wininger believes will be different because of the advanced nature of FSD:
“Traditional insurers treat a Tesla like any other car, and AI like any other driver. But a car that sees 360 degrees, never gets drowsy, and reacts in milliseconds can’t be compared to a human.”
He went on to say that the existing pay-per-mile product has given the company something that no traditional insurer has been able to offer. This comes through Lemonade’s “unique tech stack designed to collect massive amounts of real driving data for precise, dynamic pricing.”
The reputation FSD has gathered over the past few years is really impressive. Wininger backed this with some more compliments:
“Teslas driven with FSD are involved in far fewer accidents. By connecting to the Tesla onboard computer, our models are able to ingest incredibly nuanced sensor data that lets us price our insurance with higher precision than ever before.”
The product will begin its official rollout in Arizona on January 26. Oregon will get it a month later.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk outlines expectations for Cybercab production
Tesla reveals awesome Model 3 and Model Y incentive, but it’s ending soon
