How to Hide Unused Music Services and Apps, or Explicit Content in Your Tesla

March 17, 2024

By Not a Tesla App Staff

You can hide unused music services in your vehicles

Not a Tesla App

Tesla’s infotainment system comes preloaded with several apps, including various music services. Just like apps on your phone, the interface can get a little cluttered if you keep all the apps, even the ones you no longer use or never used in the first place. Fortunately, Tesla can streamline your media experience by hiding unused services. This includes the newly added Apple Podcasts.

Hiding Unused Music Services

To hide any music services you don’t use, you’ll need to get to audio settings. There are various ways to get there, including:

Using the Music Player: Drag the music player upward to reveal additional information. Tap on the 'levels' icon to go to audio settings, where you can adjust the audio balance, EQ and music sources.
Volume Control Shortcut: Tap the lower/raise volume icon in the 'dock' and then press the levels icon that appears. This is a quick way to access audio settings.

Choosing Your Services

After accessing audio settings, tap on the ‘Sources’ tab.

All services will be listed, simply uncheck any services you want to hide
To reintroduce a hidden service, you’ll need to return to this menu to re-enable it

Effects of Hiding Services

When you hide a music service, it gets removed from various locations in your vehicle, which can help simplify the interface and make things easier to find.

App Icons

Removing a service will remove the streaming music icon from the ‘All Apps’ menu. It will also remove it from the shortcut menu that lets you jump to a different music service when you tap the streaming service’s icon at the top left of a music app. For example, tapping the Spotify icon will present a drop-down menu that lets you jump to another music service.

Voice Commands

Removing a music service could also affect music voice commands. If you hide the default music service such as Streaming (Slacker) in the U.S., music commands may not work unless you specify a service name, or you’re already playing music using another service.

Search Results

Another positive effect of hiding unused streaming services is that music search results will only display results for available services. So if you hide Caraoke, or Tune-In, then music search will no longer include results for these services. However, if you’re logged in to any music services, then search results will still be displayed, even if the service is hidden.

Hiding Explicit Music

While hiding unused apps is great, you can also remove just explicit content from select services, without removing the entire app. However, this only works on select services such as Streaming and Apple Podcasts. To hide explicit content go to Audio Settings, tap the Options tab, and turn off ‘Explicit Content.’ Interestingly, Spotify already labels their content as explicit when appropriate, however, Tesla does not support hiding explicit Spotify content yet.

Advantages of Hiding Music Services

Hiding unused services helps declutter your interface and streamlines your experience. Currently, this feature is limited to music services. However, as Tesla continues adding more apps to its infotainment system, there may be future support for hiding other types of apps.

It's important to note that the available settings may vary depending on your market region, and not all settings are applicable to every audio source.

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How to Set Up Tesla USB Drive for Music; Supports Lossless Audio

February 13, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

While Tesla supports a variety of music streaming services, including YouTube Music, Apple Music, and Spotify, there may be times you want to listen to music from a local USB drive.

While Bluetooth is also an option, you’re limited to what’s available on your phone and the lower streaming quality of Bluetooth.

In this guide, we’ll go through the benefits of having music on a USB drive and how to set it all up.

Benefits of Music on a USB Drive

Having music stored locally has several benefits. First is audio quality; since you’re under full control of the bitrate of the content, you can encode or buy music at much higher quality when compared to steaming content from Spotify or another streaming service. Tesla even supports FLAC’s lossless audio, letting you experience the best audio experience in your vehicle.

Local music also doesn’t require an internet connection, so if you frequently traffic through areas with a spotty connection, you may prefer to have music locally on hand.

While streaming content is convenient, you can be limited by the content that’s offered. If you prefer foreign music or other music that’s not available on a music service that Tesla supports, local content could be a great option.

Lastly, having music on a USB drive is a great option if you don’t subscribe to a music streaming service or don’t pay for Premium Connectivity in your Tesla.

Step 1: Use the Right USB Port

Not all USB ports in a Tesla support data transfer. While some models have USB data ports in the rear console or center console, they do not support media playback and can only be used to charge a device.

Instead, your best bet is to use the USB port inside the glovebox, which is designed for both dashcam video storage and music playback. While some vehicles may also support data transfer through the USB ports in the front console, not all of them do. Older vehicles may not have a USB port in the console, and you’ll be limited in using the USB ports in the console.

Important: You cannot play music from a phone, tablet, or external music player over USB—only from a properly formatted USB storage device.

Step 2: Format Your USB Drive

Every new Tesla comes with a high-speed USB drive pre-installed in the glovebox, formatted for Sentry Mode and Dashcam storage. If your vehicle didn’t come with one, or you want to use a larger or separate drive for Sentry Mode or music, you’ll need to format it first.

How to Format a USB Drive in Your Tesla

Insert your USB drive into the desired USB port.
Navigate to Controls > Safety > Format USB Drive
Wait a few seconds (it may take longer for large drives), and the system will format the drive and create the necessary folders (e.g., for Sentry Mode and Track Mode).

💡 Tip: Use a high-speed, high-capacity SSD for the best experience. Regular flash drives work, but SSDs provide faster loading times and more capability.

Step 3: Add Your Music

Once your USB drive is formatted, unplug the USB drive from your Tesla and connect it to your computer to add your music files.

Organizing Your Music:

Create a folder called Music at the top level of the USB drive. All music must be added to this folder.

You can organize the music however you prefer, and you’ll be able to view the folders in the vehicle when selecting music. Most users prefer to have folders that include the name of the artist with subfolders for the album name, but how you organize the content is completely up to you.

If your music files content metadata such as song title, artist, album, etc, it will automatically be displayed in Tesla’s media player.

Supported Audio Formats

Tesla’s music player supports a variety of audio formats, including wave, MP3, and FLAC (lossless), but it does not support AAC (Apple's iTunes format). If you have AAC files, you can convert them to MP3 or FLAC before transferring them.

Step 4: Play Your Music

Not a Tesla App

Once you’ve transferred your music, you can bring it back to your Tesla.

Insert the USB drive into the front console or glovebox port.
You’ll now have a new app under the all apps menu called USB.
The USB app will let you view all of your supported audio content on the USB drive. You’ll be able to view the content by song, artist, album, genre, and folder structure.

First-time indexing of audio content may take a few seconds (longer for larger drives). Tesla re-indexes the drive every time the car wakes from sleep, so keeping the total file size under 30GB ensures faster access.

Voice Commands and Search

While music stored on the USB drive will behave much like other content that’s played over streaming services, there are a few limitations.

Voice commands can not be used to play a specific song or artist from your USB drive. If you ask the vehicle to play any content, it’ll default to one of the music services.

Music search is also not supported. While search will show content from all music services that aren’t hidden, it will not include music from your USB drive.

Enjoy the Best Sound Tesla Has to Offer

Tesla’s audio system is meticulously engineered for a premium sound experience, and playing lossless audio over USB takes full advantage of that. If you’re an audiophile, this setup ensures you hear your music in its purest form—no compression, no interference, just crystal-clear sound.

Now, plug in, press play, and enjoy the ride.

Tesla Cybertruck Features Coming: New Suspension Controls, Rockers and Free Cyber Wheel Caps

February 13, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Another month brings another exciting update packed with Cybertruck news. Grab your stainless steel mug and join us as we dive into the latest developments, from new features to upcoming products—all things Cybertruck.

This recap covers news from early January to early February, keeping you updated on the latest updates and what’s coming next for the Cybertruck.

Off Road Armor & Rockers Coming Soon

The prototype Off Road Armor in all its glory.

Not a Tesla App

Back in 2024, Wes Morril (Cybertruck’s Lead Engineer) and Siddhant Awasthi (Cybertruck’s Program Manager) teased the arrival of off-road armor, expected to launch for customer purchase in Winter 2024. Unfortunately, that hasn’t materialized.

But there’s good news. Wes recently showcased the prototype off-road armor and side rockers, confirming they’re on the way. Tesla plans to add them to the store by the end of March. Pricing details are still unknown, but since this armor covers the entire underbody of the Cybertruck, it’s safe to assume it won’t come cheap.

Wheel Cover Supply Confirmed

Tesla has been working hard to get Cybertruck wheel covers to early owners. While new deliveries now come with them pre-installed, some customers— including those who received their Cybertrucks as far back as March 2024—are still waiting.

According to Siddhant Awasthi, Tesla has secured a supply of the covers, but distribution remains a challenge. So far, about 32% of eligible owners have received theirs, with more shipments on the way.

In the meantime, Tesla is offering complimentary Cyber Wheel Caps to owners still waiting for their covers. These will be sent out for free, with email notifications already rolling out.

Air Suspension Controls and Improvements

Strangely, the Cybertruck still lacks the ability to control vehicle height from the app—a feature that would be incredibly useful for off-roading and just cool to have in general.

The good news is that Siddhant Awasthi recently hinted that improvements to the air suspension controls are on the way, along with other unannounced feature upgrades.

Could this mean more advanced vehicle leveling, finer height adjustments, or even the ability to drive in High mode at faster speeds? We’ll have to wait and see, but we’re definitely excited to find out.

Cold Weather Update Delayed

The Cybertruck continues to face regen and charging issues, and although a fix may arrive in update 2025.2, that update has yet to hit the Cybertruck.

We reached out to Tesla Service for an update. While they previously stated the fix would land in 2025.2, they now say it’s “coming soon,” so it’s unclear whether we’ll even get those fixes this winter.