Tesla’s release of their next-generation self-driving computer, and associated cameras and sensors, known as Hardware 4.0 (HW4) has been confusing to say the least. Even though Tesla has yet to officially announce the existence of HW4, let alone any details about it, the automaker has been including it in the Model S and Model X deliveries since March.
The inclusion of HW4 was expanded to the Model Y last week, but unlike the Model S and Model X, there is one key piece of upgraded equipment that is not being included, at least for now.
That is the high-definition radar unit. Tesla made the decision back in 2021 to remove radar from their vehicles and go with ‘Tesla Vision’, only to bring radar back with the introduction of HW4 to the Model S and Model X earlier this year. However, Tesla is strangely not including the new Phoenix radar unit in Model Ys equipped with HW4. The exclusion was first noted by Teslascope on Twitter, and we have subsequently been able to confirm the same with one of our sources.
There is no radar expected on any Model Y delivered with HW4 (for the unforeseeable future). Model S/X will continue to include new radar.
Unsure if relevant to the tweet, but felt it necessary to clarify this.
— Teslascope (@teslascope) May 31, 2023
There are still a lot of unknowns with this transition. The exact reason for adding some HW4 equipment, like the upgraded cameras and computer itself, but not the radar is unknown at this point. It could be a supply issue, or it could be something else entirely. It is also unknown when they will be added to the Model Y production lines, but we have been told there is no targeted date for when they will be included. We also aren’t sure if Tesla will retrofit the radar unit to the Model Ys built without it at a later date, but it would make sense so as to fully take advantage of the HW4 capabilities.
One important thing to remember is that even if it was being included, this radar unit is essentially useless for now as the software to take advantage of it has not been fully developed or deployed. Even the Model S and Model X cars that are equipped with radar, as seen in the tweet below, are still on the same Autopilot and FSD stack as everyone else that does not utilize radar, yet.
For anyone who needed to see a label to confirm it’s a radar module in the HW4 cars, here you go.@DirtyTesLa @WholeMarsBlog pic.twitter.com/wy3iuYceN1
— Shaun (@sw_ev) May 31, 2023
