Tesla Patent US20260017503A1: HW3 can render FSD 'inoperable' — 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) 8 Technical evidence 21 January 2026 Tesla US Patent US20260017503A1: 'the system inoperable' ======================================================== Tesla filed a US patent application describing the mathematical workaround required to run Full Self-Driving on Hardware 3. In that same patent, Tesla acknowledges that this method can render the system 'inoperable' for perception in autonomous driving. “ > For perception units of an autonomous driving system, the incurred latency can degrade or even render a system inoperable. This isn't marketing. It's a legal filing. ------------------------------------------ US Patent Application 20260017503A1, titled 'Bit-Augmented Arithmetic Convolution', is a patent application filed by Tesla with the USPTO. Patents are **public, certified legal documents**. What Tesla writes in them is submitted to a government agency as a party statement. It's binding in that sense. Not marketing, not a tweet, not a press release. Tesla filed two related patent applications alongside this one: US20260017019A1 and US20260017051A1. All three address the same technical challenge: how to run the newer, larger Full Self-Driving models on the older Hardware 3 computer, which wasn't physically designed for that load. The math trick to squeeze FSD onto old hardware ----------------------------------------------- Technically, the patent describes a method to split 16-bit numbers into two 8-bit pieces, process each piece separately through the neural network accelerators of Hardware 3, and then stitch the results back together. The goal is to **emulate** the high-precision calculations that AI4 natively supports. This isn't some optional performance boost. It's a mathematical trick to work around a fundamental hardware limitation. Tesla explicitly describes in the patent that this approach has several serious drawbacks. Tesla's own words in the patent ------------------------------- In the patent text, Tesla acknowledges: > such operations can impose latency so as to degrade a user experience And, specifically about autonomous driving (this is the critical passage): > for perception units of an autonomous driving system, the incurred latency can degrade or even render a system inoperable. 'Degrade' and 'inoperable' are Tesla's words, not ours ------------------------------------------------------ This isn't a vague caveat. Tesla names two concrete consequences: 1. **Degrade**: the system performs worse. 2. **Inoperable**: the system can become unusable. And the application this is about? 'Perception units of an autonomous driving system', exactly the core function of Full Self-Driving. That's the camera and sensor processing that decides whether a pedestrian is crossing, whether a cyclist is beside the vehicle, or whether a traffic light is red. Tesla writes in its own patent application that its workaround for HW3 can render the **safety-critical** part of the system unusable. That's not a warning to competitors. It's Tesla explaining to the USPTO why the invention is non-trivial and why it deserves protection. This kills one of Tesla's defences ---------------------------------- This evidence eliminates one of Tesla's possible defences in one move. In prior correspondence Tesla suggested that FSD is 'still in development' and that software updates will solve the problem. The patent directly refutes that: - Tesla admits there's a fundamental hardware limitation - Tesla admits the workaround (the 'math trick') isn't without risk - Tesla admits the risk affects the most critical part of the system If Tesla's own patent application says that HW3 can render the system 'inoperable', then Tesla can't, in a Dutch legal procedure, argue that HW3 simply receives 'the latest safety improvements'. Those are irreconcilable positions. One of them must be wrong. Source verification ------------------- The patent is publicly searchable via the USPTO database (patents.google.com or uspto.gov). Electrek published the story in January 2026 and quoted the passages verbatim. Published on 13 April 2026 [Previous 9\. The performance gap between HW3 and AI4: reports from March 2026 ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/evidence/hw3-ai4-performance-gap) [Next 7\. Tesla Q3 2025 Earnings: Tesla partly retracts the retrofit commitment and announces 'v14 Lite' for HW3 ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/evidence/tesla-q3-2025-walkback) [ Back to all evidence ](https://hw3claim.nl/en/evidence) In the press ------------ [View all 90 articles →](https://hw3claim.nl/en/press) [ Handelsblatt Tesla droht Massenklage wegen autonomem Fahren 20 April 2026 ](https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/industrie/autobauer-tesla-droht-massenklage-wegen-autonomem-fahren/100218072.html?ref=hw3claim.nl) [ LovEV.pl Tesla obiecała FSD, ale ci kierowcy właśnie odkryli, że mogą zostać z niczym 14 April 2026 ](https://lovev.pl/tesla-fsd-hw3-europa-problemy-skargi?ref=hw3claim.nl) [ Telset.id Gugatan Kolektif Tesla di Belanda: 7.100 Pemilik Tuntut FSD 22 June 2026 ](https://telset.id/autonext/gugatan-kolektif-tesla-di-belanda-soal-fsd-makin-serius?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. 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