Free Autopilot Camera Upgrades Coming To Some Tesla Model S And X Owners

Tesla Inc TSLA is working towards fully autonomous cars. The company says every car it sells today comes with the hardware necessary for full self-driving (FSD); the software just needs to catch up to the task.

Tesla has rolled its FSD Beta program out to a small set of testers who have shown the car can make impressive moves, such as dodging a deer on dirt roads.

But older cars did not have all the hardware required. As shared by Electrek, customers of older Model S and X vehicles that purchased the FSD software are being invited by Tesla to upgrade their autopilot cameras. This upgrade is necessary to enable the vehicles to use the FSD Beta software which allows the vehicles to drive themselves.

All cameras seem to be being replaced with the exception of the reverse camera. These upgrades come at no cost to customers, as they already paid for FSD, and Tesla is just bringing the hardware up to speed. 

Model S and X vehicles built prior to September 2017 are now eligible for complimentary autopilot camera upgrade/replacements.

When eligible, you will receive a notification via your Tesla app and a new service option will appear. pic.twitter.com/s8j1hAhjnP

— Teslascope (@teslascope) November 9, 2021

This is not the first hardware upgrade Tesla has offered for free to bring owners FSD updates. In 2019, Tesla started offering the upgrade to its latest "Hardware 3.0" or "Full Self Driving Computer" to vehicles that had the FSD software. That upgrade also came at no cost to owners. 

Photo: Tesla FSD Beta Visualization, Courtesy of Tesla