Tesla's Hardware 3 is 6 years ahead of all automakers

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving computer is Hardware 3, was introduced as “objectively the best chip in the world” in fact amazes specialists in this field.

According to Nikkei Asian Review, Nikkei Business Publications, a Japanese media outlet, conducted a teardown Model 3. The data obtained as a result was very impressive. Most of all, the car’s built-in central control unit Tesla, or “Full Self-Driving computer”, stands out. This technology is the company's largest weapon in the growing electric car market. An engineer at a major Japanese automaker, after checking the computer, said they couldn’t do the same.

The module was released last spring is already integrated in all new cars, and hardwere for vehicles of an earlier release are now being replaced. It includes includes two custom, 260-sq.-millimeter AI chips. The chip can perform 144 trillion operations per second, manage 2,300 frames per second, and do it all while consuming less power. It was developed by Tesla with the help of Pete Bannon.

Tesla developed the chips along with special software designed to complement the hardware. The computer supports the possibility of Full Self-Driving, as well as their advanced automotive infotainment system.

The Model 3's "full self-driving computer" consists of two boards: one with custom AI chips for autonomous driving, and a media control unit for the "infotainment" system. A water-cooled heat sink is installed between the two boards. (Nikkei xTech)

This chip is the key to processing large amounts of data in tomorrow's smarter, more autonomous cars. Specialists in this industry expect that such technologies will begin to be applied no earlier than 2025. Objectively assessing, we can say that not a single technology (and even more so an automobile) company in the world possesses these technologies today. This means that Tesla is six years ahead of its competitors.

According to the expert, nothing prevents such giants as Toyota or VW from doing the same much earlier than in 2025, given their enormous financial resources and huge personnel reserves. But, according to the engineer, automakers fear that such computers will lead to obsolescence of the supply chains of parts that they have cultivated for decades. For suppliers that depend on these components and their employees, this is a matter of life and death.

Most of the details inside the Model 3 have a Tesla logo. This suggests that the company strictly controls the development of almost all key technologies in the car.

Featured image: Tesla