Tesla Hardware 4.0 radar kit gets torn down as HW4 models gain Park Assist at long last

Tesla started installing its latest Hardware 4.0 (HW4) autonomous driving kit in the Model S and Model X, and it was recently caught equipping new Model Y batches with it, but seemingly without the radar that is in the more expensive models.

Nominally, the HW4 set comes with more Tesla Vision cameras that offer Samsung sensors with way higher resolution - 5MP vs 1.2MP - than what Tesla owners have on HW3 vehicles, but those aren't hooked up on the Model S/X. It also comes with a new, more powerful computer with integrated graphics subsystem, as well as a radar, despite Elon Musk's claims that the Full Self-Driving feature can do just as well with the camera-only Tesla Vision option.

All of these hardware novelties, however, mean that HW4 can't be easily or cheaply retrofitted to older HW3 vehicles, and the full Hardware 4.0 radar kit has now been torn down to demonstrate why. There is an enormous heatsink that takes the brunt of heat dissipation so that the new chippery with lower temperature tolerance can function as intended.

One look at the system board and it becomes clear why Tesla doesn't take any chances with its temperature range as it sports a rather expensive programmable Xilinx Zynq 7020 FPGA chip. Another look at the package confirms that the HW4 set comes with a radar, too, while the FCC's number on the box reveals that this is a "non-pulsed Automotive Radar which operates in the 76-77 GHz spectrum and supports 3 sensing modes."

Its field of view doesn't really scream high-def radar, though, plus Tesla has placed it behind the front bumper, so it might be just a scanner for nearby objects aimed to improve cruising behaviour rather than give a full view of the landscape in adverse weather conditions. The Model Y, for instance, which just recently started shipping with HW4 components, seemingly doesn't have this radar, so it's apparently not something Tesla considers particularly important.

Another possibility is that Tesla is placing the Hardware 4.0 components in its new cars in its usual way, as soon as they become available and without much fanfare. That sometimes means that software still has to catch up to the hardware installed, and the HW4 cars were launched with many driver-assist features like Autopilot, Traffic Aware Cruise Control, or Full Self-Driving Beta, not enabled yet.

Chief among those are FSD and Autopilot, of course, but at least Tesla released an update to give them the new Park Assist option that is supposed to replace the ultrasonic parking sensors Tesla removed to save $144 a pop. Needless to say, many owners now say the ultrasonic sensors performed better and maybe the new radar can help with Park Assist duties, at least with curbs or other obstacles in low light.

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