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Tesla MCU1 to MCU2 retrofit and FSD upgrade insights shared by Model S owner
Tesla recently started offering the option of upgrading the company’s older MCU1 units to an MCU2, which provides access to new features such as Sentry Mode and Tesla Theater. The process involved in this upgrade was recently shared by an owner of a 2017 Tesla Model S, who recently opted to purchase the MCU2 retrofit together with a Hardware 3 update.
Akikiki of the Tesla Motors Club forum gave details of the experience and the changes in his vehicle’s performance and features thanks to the hardware upgrades. The addition of MCU2 and Hardware 3 gave the Model S new features from the Full Self-Driving (FSD) suite’s Navigate on Autopilot feature, as well as the vehicle’s capability to visualize traffic lights, stop signs, and on-road markings.
The 2017 Model S “now has visualization that includes traffic lights, showing red, changing to green at the intersection,” Akikiki wrote. “As I drove under the light, they got larger showing green, until they disappeared as I went under them.”
The installation of the HW3 unit required for a recalibration of the Model S’ Autopilot system. The vehicle alerted Akikiki with a message on the vehicle’s Instrument Cluster (IC), stating, “CALIBRATION IN PROCESS.” The recalibration of Autopilot took ten miles total and allowed the driver to operate with Navigate on Autopilot, allowing the new visualizations to appear. The vehicle’s lane centering and steadiness while operating on Autopilot were reportedly improved with Hardware 3 installed.
Additionally, the Model S gained the ability to operate both Dashcam and Sentry Mode, both of which have been subjected to recent updates as recorded clips from both features can soon be viewed within the vehicle. Watching recorded clips in the car was previously not possible, but CEO Elon Musk and his team of engineers added the function with a recent update.
Additional features included a new WiFi card in the MCU2 that supports both 2.4 and 5GHz internet speeds, along with the vehicle’s internet browser, Tesla Theater, and Tesla Arcade.
The invoice states that the upgraded features of the Model S required Akikiki to pay a total of $2,500, all of which can be attributed to the MCU2 upgrade. The HW3 upgrade was free of charge because Akikiki purchased the FSD suite, qualifying him for a free HW3 retrofit, as per Elon Musk’s tweet back in October 2018.
Initially, Akikiki considered merely replacing the MCU1 chip, but he found that the upgrade would be just $1,000 less than the full MCU2 upgrade. “Although under warranty, the MCUs eMMC would still have the same size chip and would likely have another short life,” he said. “Out of warranty MCU1 repair would cost by today’s cost at least $1700+ including Tax. MCU2 cost is only $1,000 more than the MCU1 replacement and, in my opinion, is worth double that difference for longer life, better performance of AP and NAV plus the addition of Tesla Dashcam and Sentry.”
Older Tesla vehicles are being upgraded, so owners can experience the newest pieces of the company’s technology without having to buy a whole new car. For the Model S owner, his 2017 sedan now runs on the same hardware that Tesla’s latest vehicles operate on, giving it full range to drive and maneuver with the help of the company’s FSD suite. Not only does this increase the value of an older car immediately for owners, but it also contributes to safer driving conditions for Tesla owners and other vehicles on the road.
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Tesla rolls out xAI’s Grok to vehicles across Europe
The initial rollout includes the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain.
Tesla is rolling out Grok to vehicles in Europe. The feature will initially launch in nine European territories.
In a post on X, the official Tesla Europe, Middle East & Africa account confirmed that Grok is coming to Teslas in Europe. The initial rollout includes the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain, and additional markets are expected to be added later.
Grok allows drivers to ask questions using real-time information and interact hands-free while driving. According to Tesla’s support documentation, Grok can also initiate navigation commands, enabling users to search for destinations, discover points of interest, and adjust routes without touching the touchscreen, as per the feature’s official webpage.
The system offers selectable personalities, ranging from “Storyteller” to “Unhinged,” and is activated either through the App Launcher or by pressing and holding the steering wheel’s microphone button.
Grok is currently available only on Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, and Cybertruck vehicles equipped with an AMD infotainment processor. Vehicles must be running software version 2025.26 or later, with navigation command support requiring version 2025.44.25 or newer.
Drivers must also have Premium Connectivity or a stable Wi-Fi connection to use the feature. Tesla notes that Grok does not currently replace standard voice commands for vehicle controls such as climate or media adjustments.
The company has stated that Grok interactions are processed securely by xAI and are not linked to individual drivers or vehicles. Users do not need a Grok account or subscription to enable the feature at this time as well.
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Tesla ends Full Self-Driving purchase option in the U.S.
In January, Musk announced that Tesla would remove the ability to purchase the suite outright for $8,000. This would give the vehicle Full Self-Driving for its entire lifespan, but Tesla intended to move away from it, for several reasons, one being that a tranche in the CEO’s pay package requires 10 million active subscriptions of FSD.
Tesla has officially ended the option to purchase the Full Self-Driving suite outright, a move that was announced for the United States market in January by CEO Elon Musk.
The driver assistance suite is now exclusively available in the U.S. as a subscription, which is currently priced at $99 per month.
Tesla moved away from the outright purchase option in an effort to move more people to the subscription program, but there are concerns over its current price and the potential for it to rise.
In January, Musk announced that Tesla would remove the ability to purchase the suite outright for $8,000. This would give the vehicle Full Self-Driving for its entire lifespan, but Tesla intended to move away from it, for several reasons, one being that a tranche in the CEO’s pay package requires 10 million active subscriptions of FSD.
Although Tesla moved back the deadline in other countries, it has now taken effect in the U.S. on Sunday morning. Tesla updated its website to reflect this:
🚨 Tesla has officially moved the outright purchase option for FSD on its website pic.twitter.com/RZt1oIevB3
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 15, 2026
There are still some concerns regarding its price, as $99 per month is not where many consumers are hoping to see the subscription price stay.
Musk has said that as capabilities improve, the price will go up, but it seems unlikely that 10 million drivers will want to pay an extra $100 every month for the capability, even if it is extremely useful.
Instead, many owners and fans of the company are calling for Tesla to offer a different type of pricing platform. This includes a tiered-system that would let owners pick and choose the features they would want for varying prices, or even a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual pricing option, which would incentivize longer-term purchasing.
Although Musk and other Tesla are aware of FSD’s capabilities and state is is worth much more than its current price, there could be some merit in the idea of offering a price for Supervised FSD and another price for Unsupervised FSD when it becomes available.
Elon Musk
Musk bankers looking to trim xAI debt after SpaceX merger: report
xAI has built up $18 billion in debt over the past few years, with some of this being attributed to the purchase of social media platform Twitter (now X) and the creation of the AI development company. A new financing deal would help trim some of the financial burden that is currently present ahead of the plan to take SpaceX public sometime this year.
Elon Musk’s bankers are looking to trim the debt that xAI has taken on over the past few years, following the company’s merger with SpaceX, a new report from Bloomberg says.
xAI has built up $18 billion in debt over the past few years, with some of this being attributed to the purchase of social media platform Twitter (now X) and the creation of the AI development company. Bankers are trying to create some kind of financing plan that would trim “some of the heavy interest costs” that come with the debt.
The financing deal would help trim some of the financial burden that is currently present ahead of the plan to take SpaceX public sometime this year. Musk has essentially confirmed that SpaceX would be heading toward an IPO last month.
The report indicates that Morgan Stanley is expected to take the leading role in any financing plan, citing people familiar with the matter. Morgan Stanley, along with Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase & Co., are all expected to be in the lineup of banks leading SpaceX’s potential IPO.
Since Musk acquired X, he has also had what Bloomberg says is a “mixed track record with debt markets.” Since purchasing X a few years ago with a $12.5 billion financing package, X pays “tens of millions in interest payments every month.”
That debt is held by Bank of America, Barclays, Mitsubishi, UFJ Financial, BNP Paribas SA, Mizuho, and Société Générale SA.
X merged with xAI last March, which brought the valuation to $45 billion, including the debt.
SpaceX announced the merger with xAI earlier this month, a major move in Musk’s plan to alleviate Earth of necessary data centers and replace them with orbital options that will be lower cost:
“In the long term, space-based AI is obviously the only way to scale. To harness even a millionth of our Sun’s energy would require over a million times more energy than our civilization currently uses! The only logical solution, therefore, is to transport these resource-intensive efforts to a location with vast power and space. I mean, space is called “space” for a reason.”
The merger has many advantages, but one of the most crucial is that it positions the now-merged companies to fund broader goals, fueled by revenue from the Starlink expansion, potential IPO, and AI-driven applications that could accelerate the development of lunar bases.
Tesla rolls out xAI’s Grok to vehicles across Europe
Tesla ends Full Self-Driving purchase option in the U.S.
