The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China formally required Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. on March 10 to make corrections immediately to ensure production consistency and product quality and safety overs issues concerning "chip downgrade" on China-made Model 3s.

For those not familiar with this ongoing issue, cnTechPost reported last week that when a group of car owners obtained the China-made Model 3s, rumors that the cars' installed hardware did not match the information reported by Tesla were reported on the Internet.

Suspected owners posted on the Internet that the vehicle hardware model and description do not match.

These posts stated that when they inspected the vehicle, they found that the vehicle controller model of the China-made Model 3 they purchased was Hardware 2.5, which is not consistent with the actual installation of Hardware 3.0 as described in the information on the "Environmental Information for Electric Vehicles" list.

Although Tesla said that this problem occurred because of the resumption of work at the Shanghai Super Factory, according to the supply chain conditions, it did not purchase the upgraded version 3 of the standard battery life of the fully automatic driving function, and recently installed the HW2.5 version of the hardware.

Responding to this, Musk said those who complained didn't actually order FSD. Perhaps they weren't aware that the computer is upgraded for free if the FSD option is ordered even after delivery.

On Tuesday last week, Tesla apologized for the issue and said it would replace the part for free.

Tesla said that Tesla China had learnt that some upgraded models of China-made standard range Model 3 owners reported that their vehicle controller hardware codes are inconsistent with the environmental protection information on the on-vehicle list. In this regard, they understand consumers' moods and highly value the matter.

Tesla China specifically stated the following:

Tesla's Shanghai Super Factory resumed production on February 10. During the period based on the supply chain conditions, some of the standard battery life upgrade model 3 installed hardware is HW2.5.

With the restoration of production capacity and supply chain, we will continue to provide HW3.0 free replacement service for owners of controller hardware for HW2.5 China-manufactured upgraded version Model 3 as planned.

Users who require replacement, please make an appointment through Tesla Service Center, please be patient.

At this stage, if there is no optional FSD function, there is basically no difference between the driving experience and safety of the Model 3 models using HW2.5 and Model 3 models using HW3.0.

For all customers who choose FSD, we have installed HW3.0 hardware.

Tesla also stated:

Our original intention is to provide products to everyone as soon as possible under the premise of meeting consumer safety and use requirements.

We apologize and understand the troubles of some car owners who love Tesla. Under the current situation, we are also actively taking various measures to ensure timely supply chain and delivery.

We will continue to listen carefully to the suggestions of consumers, and every voice of yours will help us provide better services and products for consumers. Thanks again to all car owners for their love, support and understanding of Tesla.