Tesla's own CEO: "Hardware 3 simply does not have the capability"

On the Q1 2026 earnings call of 22 April, Elon Musk publicly admitted what this site has stated from day one:

"Unfortunately Hardware 3, I wish it were otherwise but Hardware 3 simply does not have the capability to achieve unsupervised FSD."

This is a qualitatively different admission than Musk's January 2025 promise (free upgrade) or the October 2025 walkback ("v14 Lite"). On an SEC-monitored investor call, it represents an explicit admission that hardware Tesla has sold since 2019 as "capable of full self-driving" cannot reach that level.

Tesla's proposed solution involves "micro-factories in major metropolitan areas" to retrofit every HW3 vehicle to HW4, including camera replacement. FSD buyers are offered a "discounted trade-in". VP Autopilot Ashok Elluswamy confirmed that HW3 will receive a "distilled" v14 release by the end of June 2026.

What this means legally

Tesla's defence from the rejected formal notices ("wait for regulation") is now untenable. The RDW has approved. Tesla itself now says the problem is hardware that Tesla sold.

Sign-ups now open outside the EU

Over the past week, sign-ups have opened for owners outside the EU. Registrations are bundled per country and referred, where possible, to local proceedings.

In the US a certified federal class action has been ongoing since August 2025 through Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy. In Australia one runs through Echo Law. A new jurisdictions page maps the situation for other countries.

Exploratory talks are under way with multiple law firms and consumer organisations about next steps. Participation remains voluntary, and once concrete proposals emerge, participants can decide for themselves.

Privacy and terms updated

Updates reflect expansion to countries outside the EU and explicitly document data bundling per jurisdiction and retention periods. The platform's scope is sharpened as an information-gathering platform rather than a legal service.

The core principles remain unchanged: signing up is free and non-binding, no resale to third parties, EU hosting, and data can be viewed, corrected or deleted anytime.

Finally

The collection phase continues with over 5,000 sign-ups. Larger registers per country strengthen the position across the Netherlands, EU countries where FSD rolls out, and alongside existing proceedings in the US and Australia.