Elon Musk has admitted that millions of Tesla owners will need to fork out more cash for hardware upgrades if they want their cars to truly drive themselves. The revelation comes after years of promises that the Full Self-Driving software would soon require no human intervention.

The upgrade will involve a new computer and cameras, and Tesla is planning micro-factories in major cities to speed up the process. Musk acknowledged that this approach is ‘painful and difficult’ but necessary for more advanced versions of FSD.

In January 2025, Musk admitted, ‘We’re going to have to upgrade people’s Hardware 3 computer for those that have bought Full Self-Driving. That’s going to be painful and difficult, but we’ll get it done.’

This development could open Tesla up to legal challenges from customers who believed their vehicles were already self-driving capable with just a software update. The company has sold these Hardware 3 cars between 2019 and 2023.