Did Tesla promise HW3 FSD owners full autonomy via software updates?

Analysis Reasoning

Tesla promised HW3 owners that Full Self-Driving capability would be unlocked via software updates on existing hardware, but admitted in 2025 that HW3 lacks sufficient power for unsupervised autonomy, leading to court-ordered refunds of around $10,000 per affected owner in multiple cases.

Cited Sources

• 01
  Electrek

  https://electrek.co/2025/07/07/tesla-forced-reimburse-full-self-driving-arbitration-failing-deliver/

• 02
  PCauto

  https://www.pcauto.com/my/news/tesla-was-ordered-to-refund-10600-to-some-owners-per-person-due-to-the-inability-of-hw3-to-upgrade-to-fsd-16305

• 03
  EVDances

  https://evdances.com/blogs/news/tesla-ordered-to-refund-full-self-driving-fee-after-failing-to-deliver-functionality