Tesla has moved quickly to clarify confusion around what hardware is currently shipping out in its latest vehicles, following our report earlier this week of a new Hardware 4.5 (AP4.5) computer appearing in the Parts Catalog and in newly delivered Model Y vehicles.
According to an internal communication sent to sales advisors across North America, a copy of which was seen by Drive Tesla, the company says there is currently no HW4.5 (AI4.5) in customer vehicles, and that recent references to “AP45” were the result of a temporary mislabeling issue, not a new hardware rollout.
The clarification was shared internally with sales teams in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, and Mexico, after employees were being flooded with questions about differing hardware associated with Full Self-Driving (Supervised). Tesla acknowledged it had received direct feedback from customers expressing confusion about how FSD hardware was being identified in vehicle documentation and internal systems. We even saw reports on social media that customers were putting off placing an order, or even cancelling their existing order, until there was more clarity around whether HW4.5 was fully integrated into Tesla’s supply chain.
Tesla attributes the confusion to a temporary mislabeling of the “AP45” option code that appeared in some internal systems and documentation. According to the company, this stemmed from minor formatting differences between manufacturing teams, rather than an intentional introduction of a new FSD computer. Importantly, Tesla says this was a labeling issue only — not an indication that a new or upgraded hardware platform had quietly entered production.
In the message, Tesla clearly states that all vehicles being delivered today are equipped with AP4, which it describes as “our latest and most advanced hardware for Full Self-Driving (Supervised).” In other words, customers taking delivery right now are receiving the same HW4 platform Tesla has been shipping broadly since 2023.
To prevent further misunderstandings, Tesla says it is actively updating all labels, option-code descriptions, and internal systems to standardize terminology and eliminate confusion going forward. Sales advisors were instructed to use the updated talking points to ensure customers receive a consistent and accurate explanation when asking about FSD hardware.
For customers, the takeaway is simple: if you are taking delivery today, your vehicle is equipped with HW4 — nothing more, nothing less. There is no hidden upgrade, no surprise compute bump, and no reason to worry that you may have missed out on something newer.
