Apple CarPlay, the interface that lets you cast your phone to your car’s infotainment screen, may eventually be coming to Tesla’s electric vehicles. CarPlay is almost a decade old at this point, and it has become so popular that nearly half of car buyers have said they would not consider a car without the feature, and most automakers have included CarPlay in their vehicles.
So far, this doesn’t include Tesla. CEO Elon Musk appears to have no opinion on this omission, although he has frequently criticized Apple. In the past, Musk has said that the goal of Tesla infotainment is to “maximize enjoyment in the car.” Tesla has regularly added pure features like fart noise to the system, and has even integrated video games that drivers can play while charging.
For customers who want to stream music, Tesla offers Spotify, Tidal, and even Apple Music apps.
But Tesla is no longer riding high — its sales are down, and its market share is declining worldwide as car buyers grow tired of an essentially outdated and outdated lineup of two models at a time when competition from legacy and startup automakers has never been greater.
According to Bloomberg, which cites “people with knowledge of the matter”, the feature could be added within months if it is not canceled internally.
Tesla isn’t the only automaker to reject Apple CarPlay. It took a while for startup Lucid to add the feature to its high-end EVs, and Rivian is still refusing to consider including the system, claiming that a third-party system would spoil the user experience. And of course, General Motors famously removed CarPlay from its new EVs, and it may do the same with its other vehicles in the future.