Tesla Intel Atom (MCU 2) and AMD Ryzen (MCU 3): Feature Differences and How to Tell What You Have

The full-screen parked visualization on AMD Ryzen vehicles

DirtyTesla

Tesla vehicles are equipped with two main computer systems: the MCU (Media Control Unit), which is responsible for entertainment and display functions, and the Autopilot/FSD Unit, often referred to as the FSD Computer.

Both of these systems have evolved over the years, and they’re commonly referred to by their generation. For example, MCU 2 refers to the second generation of the Media Control Unit. Similarly, the FSD computer is identified by its generation, often called Hardware 3 or Hardware 4, when referring to the third and fourth-generation hardware. More recently, Tesla has started referring to the FSD Computer as AI3 and AI4, but you’ll still hear the older terms used interchangeably.

These two systems are separate and they’re not upgraded at the same time, meaning it’s possible to have a vehicle with MCU 2 and FSD Hardware 3 or MCU 3 with Hardware 3. Some vehicles even feature MCU 1 alongside Hardware 3.

The MCU is not involved with Autopilot or FSD functions—it’s purely for infotainment and in-vehicle features such as vehicle visualization, gaming, maps, and entertainment. It doesn’t impact the capabilities or limitations of Tesla’s autonomous driving systems.

MCU 1 - NVIDIA Tegra 3

MCU 1 was the first media control unit to be introduced in Tesla vehicles, starting back in 2012. This system was used in the Model S and Model X until about April 2018, when Tesla began transitioning to MCU 2.

By the time the Model 3 launched in late 2017, it already included MCU 2. To keep legacy vehicles up to date, Tesla offers an infotainment retrofit that upgrades MCU 1 to MCU 2, which helps make the infotainment unit much more responsive and adds a variety of newer features. Tesla continues to support vehicles with MCU 1, although upgrades are much further apart. In 2024, Tesla added Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) improvements to vehicles with MCU 1 and even support for FSD V12.3.6 (FSD HW3 required).

Period Offered: 2012 through April 2018

Upgrade: Available as a paid upgrade for Model S and Model X vehicles to go from MCU 1 to MCU 2.

MCU 2 - Intel Atom

The launch of the Model 3 introduced MCU 2, which ran on Intel’s Atom mobile processor. While the Intel Atom was capable at the time, it’s now considered outdated compared to modern standards. As Tesla continues to roll out new features, the limitations of the Atom processor have become more apparent.

There is a notable list of features that are unavailable to vehicles with MCU 2. Although Tesla has optimized software to improve compatibility, not all features have been made accessible to these vehicles.

Period Offered: MCU 2 was offered in 2017 (Model 3) through 2022 (availability differs based on region and model).

Upgrade: As of now, Tesla has not offered an upgrade path or retrofit to transition from MCU 2 to MCU 3, and they’re unlikely to do so.

MCU 3 - AMD Ryzen

In December 2021, Tesla began shipping vehicles with MCU 3, powered by AMD’s Ryzen processor. The first vehicles to feature MCU 3 were the refreshed Model S and Model X, which debuted in 2021. Shortly after, Model 3s and Model Ys were also equipped with MCU 3, and today, all Tesla vehicles, including the Cybertruck, come standard with MCU 3.

This MCU is now the most widely used on the road and is Tesla’s most advanced infotainment processor. It supports impressive 3D visualizations, allows improved gaming on the center touchscreen (and rear screens in equipped vehicles), and offers a host of other capabilities. MCU 3 is also the most feature-complete version, with new features being designed for it first and then backported to MCU 2 or MCU 1 when possible.

Period Offered: The first MCU 3 vehicles were released in December 2021 and is current through today.

Upgrade: MCU 3 is the most current infotainment unit that Tesla offers.

Features Missing on MCU 2 (Intel Atom)

High-fidelity park assist is limited to vehicles with MCU 3

Not a Tesla App

While Tesla does its best to continue to support MCU 2, there is a growing difference between the features available on a vehicle with an Intel Atom infotainment unit and one with the AMD Ryzen processor.

*Many recent game additions are available to MCU 3 only, including the ever-popular Vampire Survivors and Castle Doombad. Only certain Model S and Model X vehicles include a GPU and the ability to play games on Steam.

**Atari Games were removed from MCU 3 vehicles due to Emulator Licensing issues.

How to Tell - Intel or AMD

Identifying which MCU your vehicle has is straightforward. Simply go to Vehicle Options > Software > Additional Vehicle Information.

In the interface, you’ll find details about whether your vehicle is equipped with an Intel Atom (MCU 2) or AMD Ryzen processor (MCU 3).

MCU 4?

It’s been more than three years since Tesla introduced the AMD Ryzen-powered MCU. Despite advancements, including the transition from FSD Hardware 3 to AI4—and eventually AI5—there’s been no indication of an MCU 4 on the horizon.

The Ryzen processor’s impressive capabilities make it a solid choice for infotainment, and it’s well-suited to serve until there’s another big leap in CPU performance.

While Tesla will upgrade to MCU 4 at some point, it doesn’t seem imminent. Some may argue that Tesla transitioned to MCU 3 too late, leaving vehicles just a few years old feeling outdated. It’s possible Tesla might choose to introduce MCU 4 ahead of the need for more processing power, ensuring that older vehicles can continue to benefit from new software features in the future.

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Tesla Denied “Robotaxi” Trademark for Autonomous Vehicles

Not a Tesla App

Tesla’s plan to brand its autonomous network of taxicabs has found an interesting little snag. The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a “nonfinal office action” regarding Tesla’s application to trademark the term “Robotaxi” specifically in connection with autonomous electric vehicles.

This is an initial refusal by USPTO’s examining attorney and is very particular for autonomous electric automobiles. A separate trademark application by Tesla for the term “Robotaxi” as it relates to its upcoming autonomous ride-hailing service is still under examination and has not yet received a similar rebuttal.

Understanding the Refusal

A “nonfinal office action” means the USPTO has found potential issues with the trademark application, as stated, which prevents its immediate approval and subsequent granting to Tesla. Tesla now has a three-month period to file its counterarguments and address the USPTO's concerns. 

If Tesla’s response satisfies the examiner, the trademark could be granted.

While the exact content of the office action isn’t detailed in the initial report, such refusals for terms like “Robotaxi” often occur if the USPTO considers the term “merely descriptive” or “generic” for the goods in question. In this particular context, “Robotaxi” could refer to any autonomous taxi vehicle. 

Trademark law generally prevents the exclusive registration of terms that competitors would need to use to describe their own similar products. For a term to be trademarked, it typically needs to be distinctive and act as a brand identifier rather than just a descriptive name of the product’s class or type.

Separate Application for Ride-Hailing

Tesla still has a distinct, separate, and still pending application to register “Robotaxi” as a trademark for “transportation services, namely, autonomous ride-hailing services.” The criteria for trademarking a service can differ from those on trademarks for goods, and it’s possible Tesla may have more success securing the name for the service itself, which would allow them to brand the network as “Tesla Robotaxi.”

Why This Matters

Securing a trademark grants exclusive rights to use a brand name in conjunction with specific goods or services. This helps prevent customer confusion and to protect the brand identity.

If the refusal for the vehicle trademark becomes final, Tesla may be limited in its ability to exclusively name a good (specific vehicle) the “Tesla Robotaxi.” Other manufacturers could also potentially use “robotaxi” descriptively for their own autonomous taxi vehicles.

The ability to trademark “Robotaxi” for the ride-hailing service is arguably more critical for Tesla, as they’re working to establish a unique brand for their autonomous transportation network, which kicks off in Austin next month.

The USPTO’s office action won’t hinder Tesla’s ability to develop or deploy its own vehicles in June - instead, it’ll just impact how Tesla can brand the app and their vehicles, which could cause some last-minute delays if they have to rebrand.

Cybercab and Robovan/Robobus Trademarks

While Tesla is facing challenges with the broader Robotaxi term for vehicles, the company is also seeking to trademark “Cybercab,” “Robovan,” and “Robobus.” Securing a less descriptive name for the vehicle itself often has a higher chance of success with USPTO, as it is far more distinctive than a more general term like “robotaxi.”

Why Didn’t Tesla Do This Years Ago?

Tesla may have waited too long to file a trademark for the term “Robotaxi.” While the company has been discussing a self-driving fleet since 2016, the concept of autonomous taxis has gained a lot more traction in recent years — and competitors like Uber have also begun using the term.

We suspect there was some strategic timing behind these filings. Earlier versions of FSD — particularly those prior to V12 — may have lacked the progress needed to support Tesla’s robotaxi ambitions. Filing for a trademark that isn’t actively in use or about to be used can make it harder to defend or retain.

Moreover, while the idea of autonomous vehicles has been around for years, a clearer public understanding of Tesla’s specific plans has only emerged over the past 18 months. Filing too early can trigger speculation long before the company is ready to reveal details.

Ultimately, whether Tesla secures the rights to “Robotaxi” remains uncertain — but trademarks like “Cybercab” and “Robovan” seem much more likely to stick.

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Tesla Launches AI Agent to Improve Tesla Service Communications

Not a Tesla App

One of Tesla’s greatest weaknesses, as it has quickly become one of the world’s most ubiquitous cars on the planet has always been service. Escalating issues to managers and sometimes even reaching a Tesla Service employee can be a total coin flip, depending on your Service Center.

Tesla is continuing its push to integrate AI across its customer support channels in an effort to improve customer service. According to Raj Jegannathan, Tesla’s VP for IT, AI Infrastructure, Apps, Infosecurity, and Vehicle Service Operations (that’s a lot), Tesla is launching a pilot program for a new AI designed to improve customer interactions with Service.

This new initiative follows other recent AI deployments across Tesla’s customer-facing channels, including the personalized AI assistant within the Tesla App, the ability to ask questions to AI on Tesla’s website, and the biggest one, the new voice-based AI customer representative introduced for Tesla Insurance.

Tesla Service’s new AI Agent detects comms delays, monitors sentiment, & auto-escalates to leaders. Starts tomorrow at 10 pilot locations. In 2 weeks, type “Escalate” in ‘message center’ to reach managers. Guardrails in place to prevent abuse. We’ll keep improving!

— Raj Jegannathan (@r_jegaa) May 8, 2025

Proactive AI Support

At 10 pilot service locations, this new AI agent will begin working behind the scenes at Tesla Service, to help with customer communications. It will provide three key features:

Detect Communications Delays: The AI will actively monitor service interactions to identify potential delays in communication or progress. These are often a key pain point for customers who reach out to Tesla Service and don’t receive a response for several days, as Service has nothing new to add. The AI can now step in and let the customer know Tesla is still waiting on parts or something else.

Monitor Customer Sentiment: By monitoring the tone and content of the messages between the customer and Service agents, Tesla will be able to identify situations where a customer might be dissatisfied or facing difficulties.

Auto-Escalate: If either a communications delay or negative sentiment is detected, the AI can automatically escalate issues to human managers for review. This helps to address problems before customers need to seek escalation themselves or become upset about an issue.

Customer Escalation Requests

Alongside the new AI tool, Tesla is also introducing a more direct way for customers to get higher-level attention. According to Tesla, within the next two weeks, customers can simply type “Escalate” in order to have their issue routed directly to management.

Raj’s team is currently working on implementing guardrails to prevent abuse, but this will soon make its way to improving Tesla’s service offerings. We’re glad to see Tesla taking steps to identify and correct deficiencies in the process - it has always been a sore tooth for Tesla in the last few years.

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