Tesla's Old Cars May Not Drive Themselves

Elon Musk just dropped some news that could make some Tesla owners scratch their heads. During a recent chat about Tesla's financial results, he admitted that older Tesla cars might not be able to drive themselves without someone watching over. This could be a bummer for those who bought the Full Self-Driving package years ago. See, newer Tesla cars have better hardware, like HW4, which is way more advanced than the older HW3. Musk said it's easier to make the new stuff work, but squeezing that into older cars is tricky. He even said there's a chance HW3 won't be safe enough for full self-driving without someone keeping an eye on it. Upgrading older cars to the new HW4 system might not be a walk in the park. They use different stuff and have a different shape, so it could be complicated and pricey. Plus, the cameras on newer cars are better, with higher resolution and better night vision. It's not clear if older cars need these camera upgrades too.

Even if Tesla figures out how to make older cars work like the new ones, there are still bigger questions about full self-driving. Musk isn't sure if older cars can ever get there, and the new stuff has its own challenges. The systems need a lot of computer power, and cars have to be really safe to win over regulators. Tesla's self-driving features have had some rough patches, with investigations and recalls. A tech expert even took a Tesla with the Full Self-Driving feature for a spin and found it made unsafe moves, like running red lights. About 500, 000 Tesla owners use the feature on public roads, but the company says drivers still need to pay attention. Tesla keeps an eye on drivers and can take away access to Full Self-Driving if they don't stay alert.

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