Tesla Model Y HW4 Infotainment Includes Less Ram; Likely Means No Steam Support

Hardware 4 in the Model Y comes with reduced ram and storage

Greentheonly/Twitter

Tesla's Model Y Hardware 4 infotainment system has been reviewed by one of the most notorious Tesla enthusiasts, and it's a surprising outcome. Following a series of tweets (or Xs) from renowned Tesla hacker @greentheonly, it has come to light that the HW4 unit sports less RAM and storage than its predecessor, Hardware 3 on the infotainment side (MCU).

This change doesn't seem to make much sense, given Tesla's track record of continuously improving the product. It has sparked a debate about the potential impacts and motivations behind the change.

HW4 vs HW3: A Comparison

The latest information revealed that the HW4 infotainment system in the Model Y comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, exactly half of what the HW3 units offer. This significant reduction has led to questions about the possible implications on user experience, including the inability to support gaming services like Steam, which requires 16GB of RAM on the Model S and X. It's certainly possible Tesla finds a way to run Stream on less RAM, but it's unlikely given that Steam is run in a virtual machine.

Interestingly, despite these changes, the Central Processing Unit (CPU) between HW3 and HW4 remains the same. Furthermore, @greentheonly, who did an in-depth breakdown of HW4 last month, confirmed that both HW3 and HW4's infotainment side using the Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) CPU is susceptible to voltage glitching attacks. The surge attacks were revealed by a group of hackers, who call themselves researchers, last week.

Impacts on Performance

While concerns about reduced specifications are valid, some users report that the HW4 Model Y is incredibly responsive. @greentheonly attributes this to the model's newness, free from accumulated unnecessary data known as "cruft."

Reasoning Behind the Change

The decision to reduce the RAM and storage in HW4 seems perplexing to some Tesla fans, leading to speculation about Tesla's rationale for this move. However, cost considerations could be at the core of this decision. These changes were identified in Model Y HW4 units manufactured in both the Texas and Fremont factories.

Community Reactions

Tesla's community has shown mixed responses to the revelations. Some express disappointment at an apparent downgrade, while others remain hopeful about the system's optimized performance despite the reduced specifications. The discussion on TX.com also raised questions about why the Model Y configuration does not follow the same hardware pattern as Model S/X and why there are no performance trims for Infotainment.

The new findings about Tesla's Model Y HW4 infotainment with reduced specifications may seem like a step back, but the actual impact on user experience remains to be seen.

Whether Tesla's engineers have found a way to enhance the system with reduced resources or if this move is driven solely by cost considerations will likely become more apparent with time and usage. The dialogue initiated by @greentheonly provides valuable insights, though, and will continue to be a focal point for those interested in understanding Tesla's evolving technology and strategic decisions.

Tesla Says 12V Power Socket Access Will Not Return With Sentry Mode

Not a Tesla App

It turns out that the big undocumented change in Tesla update 2024.32 that disables the 12V power and USB ports while Sentry Mode is active is not a bug but an intentional change.

A fan contacted Tesla Service to see if the change was intentional and what the reason behind the change was. Surprisingly, they received a response pretty quickly.

No 12V Power Access

Tesla has decided to restrict 12V power access for safety reasons—namely, to “reduce the likelihood of thermal events” when third-party devices are left powered on without users present. Tesla reached out to the fan in question by phone, and they seemed to be sticking to that line.

It seems that Tesla is resolute that it was due to safety reasons and that the change would not be “fixed” or allowed in a future software update – as this was an intentional change for safety reasons.

Other sources have reported that the change was due to potential misuse of the 12V power access, with people wiring 1200w microwaves and kettles or jury-rigging 240v to 120v adapters, which had apparently been the cause of multiple fires in Tesla vehicles within China.

Workarounds

Thankfully, for those who camp or need to keep their sub-trunk fridges powered while still having security in their vehicles, there is a simple, although inconvenient, workaround. You can enable Camp Mode, then manually lock your car (since Camp Mode turns off walk-away door locking) and turn off climate controls from the app.

While Sentry will NOT be active with this workaround, the car's power sockets remain powered. While this workaround is fine to use occasionally, it’ll be tiresome for those who use a fridge regularly.

We’re still hoping Tesla considers bringing the Cybertruck’s Power Control menu to the rest of its vehicles and is somehow able to limit the max draw from these outlets to prevent dangerous situations.

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Join Our Tesla Robotaxi Event Prediction Contest

Tesla

With the Robotaxi event just a day away, we thought it would be a fun idea to run a contest to predict what Tesla will announce tomorrow evening.

We’ve outlined a list of questions below; simply answer them on our forums or social media (X or Threads), and be entered for a chance to win some great prizes.

The individuals who have the most correct answers will win one of five prizes mentioned below. If more than five people get them all right, a random drawing will be held from the pool of winners.

We’ll reach out to the winners either by email or by DM on social media.

The Questions

1. Will Tesla let attendees experience Robotaxi at the event?

2. Will Tesla first start the network with human supervision (ridesharing), or with Robotaxis only?

3. What year will the network start? When will it become fully autonomous? (if announced)

4. When will Robotaxi production begin? (if announced)

5. Will it be Robotaxi or Cybercab?

6. Which of these Robotaxi Concepts will be the closest to the one announced?

7. Will Robotaxi include:

   1. Front-facing camera?

   2. Stainless-steel body?

   3. Steer-by-Wire or No Steering Wheel? (if announced)

   4. Which current Tesla model has the most similar door-opening mechanism?

   5. How many seats will the robotaxi have?

8. Will the robotaxi include AI5/Hardware 5, HW4 or something completely different?

9. Where will Tesla’s first Rideshare/Robotaxi location be established?

10. Will customers be able to purchase a Robotaxi?

Requirements

Please use the template below to answer the questions on social media or in our forums. You can post your answer as a comment to our forums, to our X post, or to our Threads post.

Once you do that, repost or quote post your favorite article from us.

1. Yes

2. Ridesharing

3. 2025/2027

4. 2025

5. Cybercab

6. Dominic's

7. Yes, Yes, SBW, No, 2

8. HW5

9. LA

10. Yes

Prizes

Prizes are generously provided by Enhance and Jowua, makers of some of the best Tesla accessories and amazing Tesla community members. Prizes will be mailed out directly by them. Winners will get to choose their prize from the list below. First place will have the first pick and so on. There will be five winners in total.

• S3XY Buttons (including a commander and wiring)

• S3XY Knob for Model 3/Y

• Tesla Gaming Controller - Multi-Device Wireless Controller (Wireless Charging)

• Tesla Gaming Controller - Multi-Device Wireless Controller (Wireless Charging)

• Tesla Gaming Controller - Multi-Device Wireless Controller (Wireless Charging)

Disclaimer

This is a Tesla event, and Tesla normally likes to hold their cards close to their chest. If an answer is ambiguous, we’ll go with the best choice decided by our staff. We’ll do our best to be fair. This

With all that said, we wish our entrants the best of luck, and we’ll announce the winners at the end of the week.

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