Older Teslas with FSD HW3 computers can also be used as Robotaxis

According to Tesla's chief engineer Lars Moravy, even much older Tesla vehicles, like a 2018 Model 3, will be able to enjoy the autonomous driving experience of a Robotaxi.

The newly announced Robotaxi two-seater will run Tesla's FSD software on the power of the upcoming AI5 or Hardware 5.0 set of 3nm computer, cameras, and sensors that would allow it to glide to its destination without any steering wheel or pedals.

All other Tesla cars, however, including the Cybertruck, will also be able to take part in Tesla's so-called Cybercab ride-share service. Tesla will provide the platform for a fee, and those who'd like their cars to participate can lend them to the Cybercab fleet for any length of time at any moment.

It turns out that not only the latest Tesla cars with a Hardware 4.0 kit will be able to join the ride-share party, but Tesla vehicles with the aging HW3 sets can be used as Robotaxis, too.

This was confirmed by Lars Moravy in an impromptu interview during the "We, Robot" event festivities where Tesla announced the Robotaxi. Any HW3 Tesla will be Robotaxi-ready and "good to go," he said.

In its recently released roadmap for September and October, Tesla's AI team had one surprising entry on its to-do list, namely the FSD 13 release. Given that the FSD 12.5 versions are just rolling out to vehicles with HW3 now, it would be interesting to see what does Tesla have in mind with such a drastic version jump.

The FSD 13 update could very well bring the Cybercab service architecture that will be used for the Robotaxi and the rest of its fleet. After all, Tesla will need to show the software to regulators, if it wants a permit to bring unsupervised FSD to Texas and California next year, as Elon Musk teased.

In any case, those on HW3 will obviously be able to run FSD 13 as well, though it remains to be seen if there will be any differences in execution, like with FSD 12.5 running on either Hardware 4.0, or Hardware 3.0 kits.

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