Older Tesla Model S and Model X will receive a major update

The Tesla Model S and Model X, two flagship vehicles recently discontinued, are set to receive a major update. This was announced by the company’s head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy. In fact, the Model S and Model X electric vehicles with the older Hardware 3 platform were the last major exceptions in the rollout of Full Self-Driving v14 Lite.

During the launch of Cybercab at Tesla, AI Lead Ashok Elluswamy stated that, in his opinion, the update for the S and X “should have been released last week.” So it’s safe to assume that an update package will soon be rolled out for the Model S and Model X with HW3.

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It’s worth clarifying that this does not refer to current Model S and Model X vehicles, which already come equipped with Hardware 4, but rather to the flagship models built on Tesla’s older Autopilot computer, often referred to as HW3 or AI3. Tesla stopped installing this computer in new cars several years ago, so owners often consider these Model S and X vehicles to be from the previous generation.

Model 3 and Model Y vehicles equipped with that same computer began receiving v14 Lite back in June, and in July, the update rolled out to a larger number of electric vehicles in North America, while South Korea became one of the first international markets. At that time, the S and X versions running the same software were not included in this rollout.

v14 Lite is Tesla’s way of porting the current v14 control stack to hardware that can no longer run the full AI 4 model. The company describes this process as “distillation”: the behavior learned by the newer computer – specifically through reinforcement learning and offline models – is compressed so that the older chip and cameras can use it as a reference.

Tesla Model X 2016

According to initial descriptions, such a neural network is approximately 15% of its original size, and the result is still Level 2 driving – that is, under driver supervision. Tesla has clearly stated that HW3 cannot support Full Self-Driving without driver supervision or robotaxi operations due to memory and bandwidth limitations. However, the update is still expected to bring a number of new capabilities to the vehicles. The official release notes for the first Lite build, firmware version 2026.20.5.1, include:

Parking, exiting a parking space, and reversing
Destination options for parking lots, streets, driveways, or the shoulder
Speed profiles, available at all times
System activation when starting from a parked vehicle.

Tesla also announced improvements in performance when merging lanes, at intersections, around pedestrians, at traffic lights, and with vehicles cutting into traffic, as well as a reduction in the number of false decelerations and smoother lane centering.

Tesla Model S

The next software update, released in mid-July 2026.Version 20.6.10 added more Hardware 4 interface elements, including a dedicated Self-Driving app and the ability to start a trip from Park mode without confirming by pressing the brake pedal. Elluswami called this version the one that “will likely be rolled out more widely.”

In fact, this process has already reached most other HW3 vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. The timeline for the international rollout still depends on regional testing and regulatory approval. For S and X owners, the update appears to focus specifically on these models, rather than on preparing a new software stack.

There is no official Tesla changelog or build number for these two models yet; only the timelines briefly mentioned by Elluswami are available. Some HW3 owners who have already received Lite report significant improvements compared to v12.6, while others describe new instances of system hesitation or phantom braking. The next test will be whether the same software will run smoothly on older flagship models, which have been waiting the longest.

Tesla Is Preparing a Major Update for Model S and Model X With Hardware 3

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