Tesla is reducing video streaming quality on YouTube
Not a Tesla App
Steaming YouTube and potentially other streaming services on Teslas is now limited to 360p resolution. The quality of other streaming services appears to be affected as well.
A recent video shared on Reddit showed an owner attempting to adjust the streaming quality in Tesla’s YouTube app but to no avail. The owner was connected to a WiFi network, but the vehicle still did not allow the quality setting to be changed.
Tesla’s Streaming Apps
To bring an unparalleled entertainment experience to its vehicles, Tesla uses video streaming “apps” that are actually just websites loaded in a chromeless browser. This allows Tesla to easily add streaming services without having to build out native apps. Since the apps aren’t native to Tesla’s operating system, the UI or features available can be changed whenever the site is updated. Initially, this appears to be what is causing the issue with YouTube's lower resolution.
Lower Resolution
Google updated the YouTube user interface for the size and resolution Teslas use, which caused some changes. The new UI that appears in Tesla's YouTube app is now the same one that is used on mobile devices, which defaults to 360p resolution.
With this UI change, the resolution button is no longer in the same spot. Although mobile users can still change the resolution through the Settings icon at the top right corner of the video, the dropdowns in the settings menu do not work in a Tesla.
Was This Accidental?
Tesla’s built-in browser, which is Chromium-based, has had issues in the past, so the inability to adjust the resolution through the use of the dropdown offered in the YouTube app appears to be a bug in the Chromium browser Tesla is using.
So initially it looks like YouTube just changed the UI and the default resolution, but a bug in the browser Tesla uses is preventing users from increasing the resolution. However, the issue is that other streaming apps like Netflix and Disney+ in a Tesla appear to be using much lower resolutions as well.
Since multiple apps now appear to stream at a lower resolution, Tesla may have been involved in changing the streaming quality behind these apps. However, there is no official confirmation from Tesla.
Since these apps are just websites, these changes are not due to a specific update and they affect everyone who has access to these streaming services.
Reducing Costs
Tesla uses AT&T to provide its built-in LTE service in the US. They pay based on the amount of data used, and charge customers a flat $9.99/mo. fee for Premium Connectivity. This may be Tesla’s attempt at lowering data usage and costs.
For a brief period in 2019, Tesla showed the bandwidth a vehicle had used in the vehicle's Software menu. However, that information was short-lived in disappeared in the following update.
Tesla used to display the bandwidth a vehicle had used on the screen
Not a Tesla App
Furthermore, the refreshed Model X and Model S cars feature an 8-inch screen in the rear, allowing for passengers to stream Netflix, Disney+, and YouTube, among others, while driving. Owners of these models may use significantly more data since their car doesn't need to be in park to stream video. Bumping the streaming quality down to 360p could save a lot of data, and the quality won’t be as noticeable on an 8-inch screen, as opposed to the Model Y and Model 3’s 15-inch screen.
WiFi
Tesla tries to limit cell data usage, but they’re usually pretty lenient and allow owners to use WiFi for practically whatever they want, even if they’re not subscribed to Premium Connectivity. They also allow owners to download lossless songs from TIDAL over WiFi.
However, being connected to a WiFi network does not resolve the current low-resolution limitation on streaming services.
Workaround to Low Resolution
There are a couple workarounds to use a higher resolution. The first was posted by Reddit user u/taska9. “So far, I have found that if you use the YouTube embed link with the vq parameter, I can get 1080p,” u/taska9 writes.
The user adds: “Say the link is https://youtu.be/nzYrogkhmXI Then you enter this link to the browser, youtube.com/embed/nzYrogkhmXI?vq=hd1080. It works.”
This workaround forces the vehicle to use the desktop version of the site, allowing you to adjust the video’s quality. According to other users in the Reddit thread, using Tesla’s browser and going to the provider’s site also allows for HD access.
The second workaround was brought up by our forum user, SteveM3P. The workaround has you load the YouTube app as you normally would and go to the video Settings icon. You then tap the resolution dropdown twice. Nothing will appear on the screen, but you will then be able to use your steering wheel's left scroll wheel to change the resolution. You'll need to press 'left' on the scroll wheel to go through each resolution option.
Video of the Issue
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Tesla has been quietly building something pretty unique on the streets of Hollywood—and we’ve been keeping a close eye on it. That’s right: the long-anticipated Tesla Hollywood Drive-In, Diner, and Supercharger is shaping up to be one of the most creative approaches to EV charging yet.
But this isn’t your average Supercharger site. It features a retro-futuristic, 24-hour diner and an outdoor movie theater, blending the charm of the 1980s with the tech-forward vibe of the 2020s.
Tesla hacker Greentheonly managed to spot some new evidence of changes within Tesla’s 2025.8.6 software build, which includes a new modal for “Charger Diner Controls”. While there isn’t anything to activate this new modal just yet, it is an indication of how Tesla intends to integrate the experience right into each and every Tesla.
The text in the modal reads: “Plug in, place your order, recharge” - which means that once you arrive and are plugged in, you’ll be able to place your order - and likely pay through Tesla’s payment system. It seems like this will all be done through either the Tesla app or the vehicle’s tocuh screen. No need to fumble with a separate app or pull out your wallet.
This is definitely a level of integration you just can’t have anywhere else - and just like any other Supercharger site, the Tesla Diner will appear as a suggested site for charging when you’re navigating or looking around the Hollywood area.
This is our best look yet at the two 45-foot LED screens at @Tesla's upcoming Hollywood diner and Supercharger.
We can also see the second Supercharger lot on the left with solar canopies. This will be one of the largest Supercharging spots in North America. pic.twitter.com/aWUe67M5vw
Those two absolutely gigantic 45-foot LED screens have now been turned on for the first time, meaning that Tesla is likely close to opening the Supercharger site. The screens were spotted displaying some test patterns, as well as some Tesla-themed content. It really brings the construction site to life - and it's the clearest sign that the Diner is well on its way to completion.
We’re hoping that this first Tesla Diner sees plenty of success - and that Tesla begins opening more of these types of facilities throughout North America, and eventually globally. Given Tesla’s penchant for unique Superchargers, we imagine this could truly be the case one day.
As Tesla continues to push the capabilities of its hardware as it prepares for autonomy with FSD Unsupervised, there has been a distinct divergence in features between HW4-equipped vehicles on FSD V13, and HW3-equipped vehicles on FSD V12.6.
There are definitely reasons for this, and Tesla hacker Greentheonly, over on X, went into great detail on some of the reasons why this divergence has continued and is likely to continue.
If you’re interested in some background, we recommend the following articles. Although they’re not necessary, you may enjoy reading them before diving right in if you enjoy this topic.
Back in the summer of 2024, we reported that Tesla’s HW4 had yet to reach its full potential, and that HW3 still had some compute to work with. However, FSD has undergone a rapid evolution - there are now fundamental differences driven by the hardware capabilities and sheer scale of the latest builds of FSD.
FSD V13’s Gargantuan Neural Networks
FSD V13 is a substantial leap for Tesla. It features substantially larger neural networks - the core brain that processes all the environmental data and makes decisions. Those networks are far larger in V13 than in V12, which results in a much smoother and human-like expereience.
Tesla’s FSD computers contain two nodes. According to Green’s analysis of FSD V13, Node B, which handles the actual end-to-end driving logic, tripled in size from 2.3 GB in V12 to a staggering 7.5 GB in V13. That’s a substantial increase, and one of the main reasons why HW3 can’t handle FSD V13. While Interestingly, Node A on HW4 remains similar in size to FSD V12, using up about 2.3 GB.
However, this massive size is also pushing the limits of HW4. While this isn’t necessarily a big problem immediately - at the end of the day, there is a limited amount of compute and ram available and model sizes will likely grow in the future. In fact, Tesla is planning to scale model sizes in the next FSD version and has already said they’ll need to optimize them, as context size is limited by on-board memory.
HW3 Limitations
Since HW3 can’t run the latest FSD models, where does this leave millions of Tesla vehicles equipped with the now-legacy FSD hardware? Are they hitting a dead end? Not exactly - Tesla has promised to replace HW3 computers with new units during the Q4 2024 Earnings Call, but only for those who have purchased FSD and only if Tesla is no longer able to update HW3 vehicles.
There’s no doubt Tesla hopes to achieve autonomy and then work backwards to make it compatible with HW3, but that’s unlikely to happen with the limited ram available on HW3.
Tesla’s AI team has continued to say that they’re still working on updating HW3 vehicles - but that they will be taking a backburner to updates for HW4 until the team can optimize the model efficiently enough to run on the smaller footprint. That means V12.6 isn’t just V13 “lite” - it is a distinctly different software branch tailored specifically for HW3’s capabilities.
Green's analysis showed that HW3 under V12.6 runs NNs totaling 1.2 GB on Node A and 3.1 GB on Node B, which is significantly smaller than the footprint of V13. Back in November, we discussed how Tesla is running a smaller and optimized FSD model on HW3, with the specific goal of achieving similar performance to V13. FSD V12.6 appears to be the current implementation of that smaller model strategy.
Green also found that of the total neural nets used for FSD, 135 are shared between the current V12.6 and FSD V13.2 releases, which is the result of Tesla’s AI team working to optimize and refine the V13 model for HW3. So some neural nets are shared between the two sets of hardware, while others are specific to HW3 or HW4.
AI4 in the Future
The fact that V13 is already stretching HW4’s limits makes us wonder about Tesla’s imminent release of AI5. Last year, Tesla mentioned that AI5 would be 18 months away - which is now about 8 months away, and potentially even sooner to help solve the autonomy problem.
At the same time, Tesla is looking to launch Unsupervised FSD in June in Austin, Texas, with presumably HW4, which would indicate that they’re confident in its capabilities.
Unless Tesla launches the Robotaxi network with AI5, we don’t believe AI5 will be a “must have” item. Undoubtedly, it will result in similar improvements to HW4 compared to HW3. However, the software needed to take advantage of the newer hardware could still be years away.
All eyes will be on Tesla’s Robotaxi network launch and the hardware required for it. For now, HW4 owners are in good hands with future updates are on the horizon, and we’re certainly excited for what’s next.
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