Tesla announces FSD v14 Lite for HW3 instead of an upgrade — HW3 Claim [ Skip to content ](#main) [ ![](https://hw3claim.nl/favicon.svg) HW3 Claim ](https://hw3claim.nl/en) [About ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/about) [Evidence ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/evidence) [Updates ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/updates) [Stats ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/stats) [FAQ ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/faq) Deutsch English Español Français Nederlands Log in Sign up [ HW3 Claim ](https://hw3claim.nl/en) Deutsch English Español Français Nederlands Log in Sign up [ About ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/about) [ Evidence ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/evidence) [ Updates ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/updates) [ Stats ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/stats) [ FAQ ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/faq) [ Back to all evidence ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/evidence) 7 Tesla leadership 3 November 2025 Tesla Q3 2025 Earnings: Tesla partly retracts the retrofit commitment and announces 'v14 Lite' for HW3 ====================================================================================================== Nine months after Musk's firm January 2025 commitment, Tesla changed course. On the Q3 2025 Earnings Call in October 2025, Tesla announced that HW3 owners would receive a stripped-down 'v14 Lite' version instead of a full hardware upgrade. “ > We've not completely given up on hardware 3. Nine months later, a different story ------------------------------------ On the Q3 2025 Tesla Earnings Call, held 22 October 2025, HW3 came up again. The tone from Tesla leadership was noticeably more cautious than Musk's firm January commitment. Electrek quoted two Tesla executives: **CFO Vaibhav Taneja**: > We've not completely given up on hardware 3. **VP Ashok Elluswamy** (FSD head) then announced: > v14 Lite version for hardware 3. Probably expected in Q2 next year. 'Next year' in October 2025 meant 2026. Q2 2026 is April-June 2026, precisely the period in which this site is launched. Two promises that can't both be true ------------------------------------ These statements hurt Tesla in two ways: **1. A partial retraction of an earlier commitment** On 29 January 2025, Musk declared that Tesla would 'replace all HW3 computers in vehicles where FSD was purchased'. Nine months later, Tesla's own CFO says they've 'not completely given up on hardware 3'. That's the opposite of the January promise. A manufacturer openly walking back a prior commitment on an investor call puts itself in a position where neither promise can be treated as binding, or where both promises were made in good faith but simply not honoured. Either interpretation works in favour of customers who relied on the first promise. **2. 'Lite' isn't what anyone paid for** A 'v14 Lite' version is by its very nature a reduced variant. In 2019 Tesla sold the product 'Full Self-Driving', not 'Full Self-Driving Lite'. Delivering a smaller version with reduced functionality isn't performance of the original agreement. It's an attempted buy-off with an inferior substitute. This isn't a theoretical distinction. Technical press has reported that Tesla builds the 'Lite' version by 'pruning' the neural network and 'quantizing' weights from 16-bit to 8-bit precision. The result is measurably worse: according to reports in March 2026, HW3 vehicles perform roughly 3.75 times worse on the most critical safety metric than AI4 vehicles. We don't accept a stripped-down version --------------------------------------- A core principle of hw3claim.nl is that HW3 owners who purchased the FSD package don't accept a stripped-down version. The promise was 'fully self-driving under nearly all circumstances, twice as safe as the average human driver'. A 'v14 Lite' that performs fundamentally worse than what new buyers receive isn't equivalent to that. That Tesla admits the difference between the full product and the Lite version publicly, in its own Q3 2025 earnings call, makes it impossible for Tesla to later argue that the two versions are 'equivalent' or 'essentially the same product'. Electrek's own read on the situation ------------------------------------ Electrek closed its June 2025 report (four months after the January promise) with the observation that Tesla had still not communicated a plan. After the Q3 2025 call, Electrek wrote in November 2025: > It appears that Tesla is hoping that HW3 owners will change vehicles. In other words: Tesla's strategy appears to be to push HW3 owners onto the second-hand market without taking its own responsibility. That's exactly why this initiative exists, and why 'Lite' isn't enough. Source verification ------------------- Electrek's report on the Q3 2025 earnings call is publicly accessible: - https://electrek.co/2025/11/03/elon-musk-hypes-tesla-8th-gen-ai-chip-but-hasnt-delivered-promised-self-driving-3rd-gen/ Published on 13 April 2026 [Previous 8\. Tesla US Patent US20260017503A1: 'the system inoperable' ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/evidence/tesla-us-patent-hw3) [Next 6\. Musk said it himself. 'We will need to replace all HW3 computers.' ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/evidence/musk-q4-2024-earnings) [ Back to all evidence ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/evidence) In the press ------------ [View all 90 articles →](https://hw3claim.nl/en/press) [ WikiDocs 테슬라 HW3 FSD 집단 소송: 유럽에서 시작된 움직임 20 April 2026 ](https://wikidocs.net/blog/@jaehong/11985?ref=hw3claim.nl) [ Híbridos y Eléctricos Problemas legales para Tesla en Europa: conductores reclaman hasta 7.500 € por la fallida conducción autónoma 18 April 2026 ](https://www.hibridosyelectricos.com/coches/problemas-legales-tesla-en-europa-conductores-reclaman-hasta-74500-por-fallida-conduccion-autonoma-musk_86323_102.html?ref=hw3claim.nl) [ INSIDE 付了 6,400 歐元、等了七年，Tesla 給 HW3 車主的答案是不知道有沒有 23 April 2026 ](https://www.inside.com.tw/article/41136-tesla-hw3-fsd-seven-years-no-answer?ref=hw3claim.nl) Stay informed Get updates on the progress of this initiative. No Tesla required. Unsubscribe any time. Subscribe [ ![](https://hw3claim.nl/favicon.svg) HW3 Claim ](https://hw3claim.nl/en)Tesla promised since 2016 that every car with Hardware 3 would become fully self-driving. FSD is now rolling out across the EU, but not on our cars. Every HW3 owner is affected, whether or not they purchased FSD. Stay informed Subscribe Initiative [About](https://hw3claim.nl/en/about) [Evidence](https://hw3claim.nl/en/evidence) [Jurisdictions](https://hw3claim.nl/en/jurisdictions) [Updates](https://hw3claim.nl/en/updates) [Stats](https://hw3claim.nl/en/stats) [Press](https://hw3claim.nl/en/press) Information [FAQ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/faq) [Privacy statement](https://hw3claim.nl/en/privacy) [Terms](https://hw3claim.nl/en/terms) [Contact](https://hw3claim.nl/en/contact) English Deutsch English Español Français Nederlands [ ](https://x.com/mischamartijn) This initiative is run by one Tesla owner. Signing up does not create an attorney-client relationship. © 2026 HW3 Claim, a private initiative by [Mischa Sigtermans](https://mischa.sigtermans.me). Log in or sign up New or already signed up? Enter your email and we'll send you a link. No password needed. Website Email address By continuing you agree to the terms and the privacy statement. You can request, correct or delete your data at any time. Send link Count me in