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Tesla already did this once. They replaced HW2.5 with HW3 for free.
When Tesla acknowledged in 2019 that the existing Full Self-Driving Computer (HW2.5) couldn't deliver full self-driving, they gave FSD buyers a free hardware upgrade. That's their own precedent. The same logic applies to HW3 now.
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Date
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11 April 2026
If you have purchased Full Self-Driving Capability and have computer 2.0 or 2.5, you qualify for a free upgrade to the Full Self-Driving Computer.
They've done this before
In March 2019, Tesla started producing the 'Full Self-Driving Computer 3.0' (HW3). At the same time, Tesla launched a free retrofit program for FSD buyers who still had an older Hardware 2.0 or 2.5 computer:
- Buyers with FSD package: free replacement with the new HW3 computer
- Buyers without FSD package: paid upgrade (initially approximately $1,500, later reduced to approximately $1,000)
Tesla's CEO Elon Musk confirmed this publicly on X/Twitter in July 2019, in reply to researcher Lex Fridman (then at MIT). Dutch tech press reported it in July 2019: Tweakers.net published an article titled "Elon Musk: Tesla's with HW2+ get free upgrade for FSD by end of this year" explaining the commitment. The article quoted Musk:
"Tesla's own chip is offered for free to Tesla owners who have paid for the Full Self Driving package."
It also included a telling observation from Tweakers: "Tesla has been making promises about this for a long time."
The precedent is clear
Tesla acknowledged in 2019-2020 that when a vehicle with a purchased FSD package doesn't have the right hardware to deliver the promised functionality, the manufacturer replaces the hardware at its own cost. That's not an abstract legal theory. It's Tesla's own policy, executed on thousands of Dutch and European vehicles.
In April 2026, Tesla faces exactly the same situation with HW3 vehicles. The only difference is the hardware generation. The principle is identical: anyone who bought the FSD package is entitled to hardware that can run the product.
The policy is still on Tesla's own website
Tesla hasn't withdrawn this retrofit policy. On its current Dutch-language support page it still states:
"If you have purchased Full Self-Driving Capability and have computer 2.0 or 2.5, you qualify for a free upgrade to the Full Self-Driving Computer."
Tesla literally acknowledges, on its own current Dutch-language site, that the principle applies to computers 2.0 and 2.5. There's no substantive reason why the same principle shouldn't apply to computer 3.0. The only difference is that Tesla hasn't written it down yet. That's an untenable distinction: same principle, same promise, same buyers. Tesla has no justification for selectively applying its retrofit policy.
It happened to this car
The initiator of hw3claim.nl had this exact retrofit performed on his Tesla Model 3 on 26 September 2020 at the Amsterdam Tesla Service Center, at no cost. Tesla's own policy in action. Today that HW3 computer has in turn proven insufficient, and Tesla refuses to do the same thing for the step to HW4/AI4.
Actions speak louder than marketing copy
A loose marketing claim can theoretically be dismissed as 'advertising language'. A concrete corporate policy action can't. Tesla:
- Performed thousands of hardware upgrades at its own cost
- Publicly justified that policy through its CEO
- Had that justification confirmed by international and Dutch press
- Publicly documented the policy on its own support site to this day
This isn't a promise. It's a course of conduct Tesla established themselves. Walking away from it for HW3 buyers creates an inconsistency that Tesla can't explain.