For several months now Tesla has been offering free upgrades to the hardware 3.0 (HW3.0) computer for Tesla owners who have purchased the Full Self-Driving (FSD) package. The free upgrades were only being offered to Tesla owners in the US, but Tesla is now offering the upgrade in Canada.
The upgrades, which retrofits the Tesla vehicle with the latest computer chip that will be able to handle FSD (when released), have been reported in Canada from coast to coast. There have so far been confirmed upgrades to HW3.0 in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto. We have also been told a Model X owner in Victoria was contacted by Tesla to schedule a time to receive the upgrade.
The upgrades (for now) have to be performed at a Service Centre, and can’t be done by a Tesla Mobile Ranger. Although just yesterday a Tesla owner in the US was reported he was able to schedule a mobile visit for the upgrade, and needed to supply a 110v plug for battery support. Hopefully this option makes its way to Canada soon as the ability to have it done at your home would be a huge time saver for many Canadians.
Similar to how the upgrades happen in the US, owners are selected for the upgrade based on the VIN (vehicle identification number), and contacted by Tesla when their car is next on the schedule, and the parts are available.
You might also be able to receive the upgrade by scheduling a service using Tesla’s mobile app, as one owner told Tesla in Canada. This may not work for everyone though, as that owner might have been close enough on the list for their upgrade to be approved.
Not sure if you have the HW3.0 computer in your Tesla? The easiest way to tell is if you can see traffic cones in your driving visualizations – vehicles with HW2.5 are not able to see them. You can also check the ‘Additional Vehicle Information’ menu option that was added in the recent 2020.4.1 software update.
A reminder that this upgrade is only available for those who have purchased the FSD upgrade, and is completely free.
Have you received the FSD upgrade, or been contacted by Tesla to schedule the upgrade? Let us know in the comments below.
