Tesla emulates FSD 12 on Hardware 4.0 vehicles as Elon Musk says HW3 cars a priority

When it comes to its latest and greatest Full Self-Driving Beta V12 software, Tesla is indeed prioritizing cars with the older Hardware 3.0, it seems.

Running FSD 12 on HW4 vehicles is a no-go for now, confirmed Elon Musk. Back in August, Elon said that "HW4 software will lag HW3 by at least another six months, as our focus needs to be on getting FSD on HW3 working super well and provided internationally."

Fast-forward to the public Full Self-Driving Beta V12 release, and that notion has become reality. It turns out that Tesla has indeed optimized FSD for HW3 vehicles.

The Model Y and Model 3 Highland with HW4 Samsung Vision cameras and the new computer aren't getting the full FSD 12 experience that their car's hardware is capable of. In fact, Tesla only emulates FSD created for the Hardware 3.0 kit in its HW4 vehicles.

"Hardware 4 will ultimately be better, but all training is for Hardware 3, with HW4 running in emulation mode," quipped Musk.

It makes sense, as there is only a limited number of Tesla cars that have come with the HW4 suite of the conveyor belt. The majority of vehicles on the road are on Hardware 3.0 still, and Tesla wants to optimize the Full Self-Driving Beta experience for them first.

The latest V12 version has been met with rave reviews by those who tested it, and Elon Musk is now giving free FSD trials, as well as mandatory training to new buyers, to popularize its driver-assist features.

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