Tesla HW5: 5X More Power, Coming 2026

【PCauto】Tesla is preparing to produce its next-generation FSD hardware (HW5/AI5) and considers Samsung and TSMC as manufacturers.

The computing power target for this new hardware system is set between 2,000 to 2,500 TOPS (trillion operations per second), representing a 4 to 5-fold increase over the current HW4 system (approximately 500 TOPS) adopted by models like the Model Y, and over 17 times more powerful than the early HW3 platform (144 TOPS).

This performance parameter is between Nvidia's consumer-grade graphics cards RTX 5080 (1800 TOPS) and RTX 5090 (3400 TOPS). However, with automotive-grade dedicated chip design, its power consumption will be significantly lower.

Tesla Adopts Dual-Supply Chain Strategy

The major supplier, TSMC, will utilize the 3nm N3P manufacturing process, while Samsung serves as the alternative foundry. This dual-supply chain not only enhances efficiency but also reduces production risks.

Notably, HW5 adopts an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) architecture, which is deeply optimized for autonomous driving neural network computations, offering significantly higher efficiency compared to general-purpose GPU solutions.

Hardware Upgrade Includes Sensor Improvements

Rumors suggest HW5 will be equipped with Samsung's new Weather Proof cameras, featuring 6x stronger wear-resistant coatings and integrated lens heating/de-icing functions to address visual recognition challenges in complex weather conditions like rain and snow.

Enhanced safety performance is the core of this upgrade. The 2500 TOPS computational redundancy supports more complex real-time environmental modeling and multiple safety verification mechanisms, pushing the reliability of unsupervised full self-driving (Robotaxi) toward the 99.99% threshold.

Regarding software synergy, Elon Musk has revealed that the parameter scale of the FSD V14 system under development will be expanded by 4.5 times, requiring HW5's high computing power to achieve instant decision-making—such as obstacle avoidance responses to hazards suddenly occur in high-speed scenarios.

HW5 Will Begin Pilot Vehicle Tests in Late 2025

Following small-scale testing in 2025, HW5 will achieve mass delivery in 2026. For current owners, there are no official upgrade plans for vehicles equipped with the HW4 platform, while earlier HW3 models may potentially receive a downgraded AI5 retrofit solution—provided that their existing hardware fails to meet future unsupervised FSD safety requirements.

Mileage: Tesla's Second Technical Advantage

This hardware iteration continues Tesla's three-pronged technical approach combining "computing power + data + algorithms." With its global sold vehicles having accumulated over 3 billion miles of driving data (far surpassing Waymo's 22 million miles), combined with the cost advantage of in-house developed chips (the Model Y's autonomous driving suite costs merely one-seventh of Waymo's solution), Tesla has established outstanding competitiveness.