Man put an old 2021 Tesla Model Y against a 2024 Model X to compare range and see whether Teslas become ‘outdated’
- This man put an old Tesla Model Y against a new Model X
- It wasn’t a car comparison but a Hardware 4 vs. Hardware 3 test
- The results were surprising, and he figured out if Teslas get ‘outdated’
Published on Jan 27, 2025 at 8:00 AM (UTC+4)
by Siddharth Dudeja
Last updated on Jan 22, 2025 at 10:06 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A man from California tested the latest and greatest – a 2024 Tesla Model X – against a 2021 Tesla Model Y with different hardware to see if the old stager could hold its ground.
The comparison was strictly to compare the newer tech in the Model X against the older machinery in the Model Y.
Since both cars share the same hardware depending on the model year, it wasn’t actually a Model X vs. Model Y comparison.
In this case, it was the Tesla Hardware 4 (now called AI4) in the Model X and the Tesla Hardware 3 (HW3) in the Model Y.
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Man compares new Tesla Model X against older Model Y
Chris from the Everyday Chris YouTube channel posted a video comparing a 2024 Tesla Model X with a 2021 Model Y.
More specifically, he was comparing Hardware 4 (AI4) with the older Hardware 3 (HW3).
When Tesla introduced the upgrade, it was said to bring major quality-of-life changes, including faster software, better Full Self Driving (FSD) capability, and upgraded cameras.
That’s precisely what Chris decided to check in his thorough tests with both EVs participating.
While it’s not the first time we’ve seen old Teslas being tested after years of running, we hadn’t really witnessed a comparison with new hardware.
Chris started off with a simple reboot test, where he and his partner rebooted the software of both cars to see which one would finish first.
The newer Hardware 4 inside the Model X was quicker to reboot at 47 seconds, while HW3 took 75 seconds.
It wasn’t that big of a difference, so Chris moved on to the next test.
Further, he checked the accuracy of the estimated range shown on both cars.
Hardware 4 vs. Hardware 3 test results
The Model X dropped an extra three miles than it should have, while the Model Y dropped six.
Both cars also preconditioned their batteries due to being navigated to a charging station — which is why the numbers were slightly off.
Next up was the charging speed test, where both Hardware 4 and 3 performed almost the same.
We’ve seen similar results before when this man tested the range and performance of a 10-year-old Model S.
Anyway, Chris finally moved on to the FSD test, where both cars were autonomously driven through the same routes.
The Hardware 4 was on a slightly newer version compared to the Hardware 3 car, but that shouldn’t have made that much of a difference.
This is where things got confusing, as both Tesla EVs cleared some tests perfectly but also failed in others.
In the end, Chris concluded that while the newer hardware is faster, it isn’t that big of an upgrade over HW3 inside the old Model Y.
That practically means older Teslas can hold their ground well even today, much similar to the results another YouTuber got while testing a 2017 Model X.
