Does Tesla Have Apple CarPlay? We Take a Look at Why Tesla Doesn’t Include It

By Kevin Armstrong
CarPlay is available on 98% of new vehicles
CarPlay is available on 98% of new vehicles
Car and Driver

For everything that Teslas offer, these incredible vehicles are missing something available in nearly every other new automobile — Apple's CarPlay and Android Auto.

Apple and Google released their vehicle user interfaces back in 2014. Yet, eight years and countless requests later, Tesla still doesn't support CarPlay or Android Auto.

While Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk has never given an official explanation, there's plenty of speculation about why the dominant electric vehicle manufacturer does not support these features.

Why Tesla doesn't support CarPlay and Android Auto

First and foremost, Tesla develops its own software that is miles ahead of traditional car manufacturers.

The huge benefit that other manufacturers gain by integrating CarPlay just isn't as crucial in a Tesla, which already offers intuitive, responsive software with many features.

Many apps on a phone that would be useful in a vehicle are already available in a Tesla, from navigation, Spotify, phone integration, text messaging, karaoke, to a web browser and more. Although Tesla doesn't have a robust app store like Apple and Google, it does offer features that cover common use cases.

However, it's understandable the craving some users may have for CarPlay or Android Auto if Tesla doesn't support their favorite streaming service, such as Amazon Music, SiriusXM or even voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant.

Although you're able to listen to music through Apple Music, and Spotify, watch Netflix and YouTube on the car's large display through Tesla's software, there will always be more options and features on a phone, regardless of how many features Tesla includes.

Seamless Experience

One reason for not integrating CarPlay or Android Auto into Teslas is that these systems would break up the Tesla experience.

CarPlay and Android Auto currently operate in their own, separate experiences. This requires you to first pull up CarPlay and then perform your desired task, such as setting your destination or switching music.

In traditional vehicles, this isn't much of an issue since CarPlay or Android Auto (AA) usually take over the middle infotainment display. This allows CarPlay or AA to remain on screen, which means that you can just tap the app you want.

However, in a Tesla, software features are very tightly integrated, and the addition of CarPlay/AA would break up the seamless experience Tesla currently offers.

For example, in a Model Y music and navigation are usually both displayed on the vehicle's screen at the same time, something that is not currently possible with CarPlay.

In addition, if the driver maximizes the music player or launches a different app in a Tesla, then Tesla displays navigation information on the left side of the screen, keeping the driver aware of the next turn.

If the driver receives a text message while driving, the driver can see and hear the message being received, regardless of which app is on screen.

However, since all of CarPlay's features only work in a CarPlay window, this kind of flexibility and integration isn't possible.

Duplicate Experience

Incorporating CarPlay or Android Auto duplicates a lot of features Tesla already has and removes the ability for Tesla to deep link apps and features.

For example, in a Tesla you could have the maps, phone, calendar, Spotify and other apps in the vehicle's launcher, giving you one-tap access to the app

For example, imagine if you had Google Maps open and you wanted to view your backup camera then open Spotify. In a Tesla, you'd tap the camera in the launcher, then tap Spotify. Two taps.

However, if you wanted to perform the same actions with CarPlay, this would take significantly longer. You'd first tap the camera icon in Tesla's launcher, then tap to go back to CarPlay, but you'd still have to go 'Home' on the CarPlay interface, then find Spotify. That's four taps, assuming Spotify was on the first page of CarPlay's home screen.

Since CarPlay acts as a secondary experience this will often increase the number of taps to get to certain information.

CarPlay also duplicates many features in a vehicle which results in some confusion since there are multiple apps for the same thing, such as navigation and music.

This issue is only exacerbated in a Tesla since Tesla offers so many of the same features as CarPlay such as maps, messages, phone, calendar, podcasts, etc.

New CarPlay Experience

Apple shows off the new CarPlay coming next year
Apple shows off the new CarPlay coming next year
Apple

Apple revealed a significantly improved CarPlay experience at the 2022 Worldwide Developers Conference. Emily Schubert, Apple's Senior Manager of Car Experience Engineering, said the company has "been working with automakers to reinvent the in-car experience across all the drivers' screens." The redesigned CarPlay appears much more customizable, and it's said to seamlessly integrate into vehicles instead of having a CarPlay window or taking over the entire screen.

This may be an experience that would suit Teslas much more than Apple's current offering, however, there's something else that is likely preventing Tesla from incorporating Apple's or Google's auto interface.

The Future of the Vehicle

Vehicles have traditionally been about getting you to your destination, however, that's now shifting. No one wants a car that just gets them to their desired location, they want to get there as safely as possible and be entertained on the way.

As this shift continues and we approach an autonomous future, vehicles will be much more about software and their entertainment offerings.

The next generation of car makers will not be decided by how they drive, but by how autonomous they are and what software features they offer.

Future Competition

While many pit Tesla against Volkswagen, Toyota and others, these are merely short-term obstacles for Tesla.

Tesla's true competitors have yet to emerge, but they'll be in the form of powerful tech companies such as Apple and Google. Companies that not only have strong design and AI foundations but also have access to a large user base and a dominant platform.

When a manufacturer incorporates CarPlay or Android Auto, they're giving up a great deal of control to Apple or Google.

They're not only giving up control though, they're giving up the opportunity to build a vehicle platform and a loyal user base.

If Tesla added CarPlay and Android Auto to their vehicles, they'd be helping their upcoming competitors by giving them control of a market they already know will decide the next big players - the inside of the automobile.

AirPlay

But there is another solution that may keep Apple users and Tesla happy — the use of AirPlay. This capability enables pairing a phone to an audio device to stream music or podcasts. AirPlay is not available in cars yet, but it would not be much of a leap to include the option with Tesla already equipped with Wi-Fi capabilities. Elon Musk recently left the door open for that development.

In May 2022, Musk responded to a tweet. @JacobB1290H wrote: "The speaker system in Teslas are so good, but we are limited by the quality of Bluetooth. Could we have AirPlay added? It adds the ability for lossless streaming. The hardware necessary is already there."

Musk responded: "Will discuss this and other improvements with Tesla audio engineering. The new Model S and X sound system is incredible." His tweet generated 11.6k likes and 440 retweets.

Will Tesla Need to Give In?

At least one developer has created a workaround to add CarPlay to Teslas. Michal Gapinski developed a solution that allows you to take a Raspberry Pi and connect it to your vehicle to incorporate CarPlay into the vehicle's browser.

While the solution is great, it does require some tech knowledge to get working. While this gives some users what they want, it puts even more pressure on Tesla to develop a native solution.

During the 2022 Apple event, the company stated that CarPlay is a must-have feature for people who are car shopping. According to Apple, 79 percent of buyers in the United States would only consider a vehicle that is CarPlay-capable. The company also says that CarPlay is already available in 98 percent of cars in the U.S.

These numbers put Tesla and other EV manufacturers such as Rivian in a difficult position. They understand the future of the EV, but at the same time, their users are demanding access to CarPlay and Android Auto.

Tesla’s Q2 2025 Earnings Call: What to Expect and Top Questions

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

Another quarter has passed, and that means it’s time to submit questions and vote for Tesla’s Q2 2025 Earnings Call. While Q1 was a tough quarter for the company, Q2 saw some recovery in sales, although there’s still some work to be done.

However, there’s always a lot to be excited about during Tesla’s Q&A session, where we usually learn a lot about future software improvements and upcoming vehicles. We may hear more about FSD Unsupervised, Robotaxi, or the more affordable vehicle, or its upcoming larger 6-seater Model Y, the Model Y L. Tesla also mentioned a potential FSD price hike back in the Q1 2025 Earnings Call, so that could be something that is brought up as well.

Tesla’s Q2 So Far

Tesla has already released their Q2 2025 Production and Delivery numbers, which were up from Q1 of this year, but still down compared to Q2 last year.

Production

Deliveries

Model 3/Y

396,835

373,728

Model S, X, and Cybertruck

13,409

10,394

Total

410,244

384,122

How to Submit & Vote

Tesla lets shareholders submit a question that will be voted on and may be answered during the Q&A session. To submit your own question or vote on an already submitted question, you’ll need to be a verified shareholder. You can go to Say’s platform and link your brokerage accounts.

Once it is verified, you’ll be able to log in and vote your shares on your own question, or on someone else’s question.

Here’s the link to get started on Say’s Tesla Q&A. You must submit your questions and votes by July 23rd, 2025, at 4:00 PM EDT.

Top Questions So Far

Unsurprisingly, people have already been submitting questions, and here are the top ones so far. 

  1. Can you give us some insight how robotaxis have been performing so far and what rate you expect to expand in terms of vehicles, geofence, cities, and supervisors?

  2. What are the key technical and regulatory hurdles still remaining for unsupervised FSD to be available for personal use? Timeline?

  3. What specific factory tasks is Optimus currently performing, and what is the expected timeline for scaling production to enable external sales? How does Tesla envision Optimus contributing to revenue in the next 2–3 years?

  4. Can you provide an update on the development and production timeline for Tesla’s more affordable models? How will these models balance cost reduction with profitability, and what impact do you expect on demand in the current economic climate?

  5. Are there any news for HW3 users getting retrofits or upgrades? Will they get HW4 or some future version of HW5?

  6. When do you anticipate customer vehicles to receive unsupervised FSD?

And here are some other ones we found interesting:

  • Have any meaningful Optimus milestones changed for this year or next and will thousands of Optimus be performing tasks in Tesla factories by year end?

  • Are front bumper cameras going to be necessary for unsupervised full self driving? If so, what is the companies plan to retrofit vehicles that do not have them?

  • Will there be a new AI day to explain the advancements the Autopilot, Optimus, and Dojo/chip teams have made over the past several years. We still do not know much about the HW4.

Earnings Call Details

Tesla will hold its earnings call on Wednesday, July 23rd, at 4:00 PM EDT. It's still early for an access link, but we’ll make sure we have a link up on the site before the earnings call that day.

If you do miss the earnings call, no worries. We will provide a full recap following the call, and we’ll also do some in-depth dives into what was said and what we know.

First Look at Tesla’s 2025.26 Update [Photos + Videos]

By Karan Singh
DirtyTesla

Tesla’s Summer Update, 2025.26, has finally launched, bringing with it a batch of interesting new features for some, and a bunch of quality-of-life improvements for everyone else.

Grok AI Assistant

The star of the Summer Update is Grok, xAI’s conversational AI assistant, which has now landed in Tesla vehicles. For now, it's available in any Tesla that has an AMD processor and is potentially coming to Intel-based vehicles in the near future. The feature is also only available in the U.S., but it’s expected to expand to other regions — hopefully soon.

Grok is in its first iteration as an in-vehicle assistant, and for now, cannot control the vehicle, which means that Tesla’s voice command system is still intact. However, there is a lot it can do already. Grok is activated by pressing and holding the voice button (right scroll wheel on older vehicles), while a short press of the button is still reserved for voice commands. Grok will support a wake word in the future, letting you activate it without pressing a button.

Grok Options

Once Grok is open, which can also be done by tapping the Grok app icon, users can tailor the AI personality according to their preferences by selecting a persona and voice of their choice.

There are also several other settings for Grok under the settings button. You can enable NSFW mode, Kids Mode, or disable access to your vehicle’s location.

Grok has contextual awareness of your vehicle location, which means it can provide relevant answers to questions like “Where should I go for dinner?”

Logging In Not Required

Grok is free with Premium Connectivity, or if you’re using your phone’s hotspot feature or connected to WiFi, so anyone can try it for free. In fact, you don’t even need to log in to start using Grok. However, logging in adds some additional features.

If you’d like to log in, you can do so by scanning the QR code in the vehicle, which will provide chat management and transcripts, SuperGrok access (if you pay for a subscription), and better privacy control.

Light Sync

Tesla has added a new Light Sync feature that pulses the vehicle’s ambient lighting in sync with the music being played. This option is turned on under Toybox > Light Sync. There are also a few options, including the ability to match the ambient light colors to the album’s artwork, instead of using your selected color.

In addition, in Park you can enable Rave Cave when parked, which cranks up the ambient lighting brightness to the maximum.

Dashcam App Update

The Dashcam app now allows you to adjust playback speeds, just like the older Dashcam Viewer, which is still used on Intel-based vehicles.

In addition to adjusting playback speed, you can now adjust the video view so that it’s displayed without being obstructed by the buttons at the top (video below). The difference is small, but could be useful if you’re trying to see something slightly out of view or that’s hidden behind the top Dashcam buttons.

While the Cybertruck has also received the updated Dashcam Viewer with this update, it does not have the new B-pillar camera recordings like other HW4 cars.

Sentry Mode Glow

Sentry Mode is getting one of the best uses of the vehicle’s ambient lighting that we’ve seen so far. The ambient lighting will now slowly pulse red while Sentry Mode is activated to grab someone’s attention, instead of just relying on the vehicle’s display.

While you can disable Sentry Mode sounds, we’d love to see an even more stealthy Sentry Mode that also disables the ambient lighting and screen, allowing the vehicle to record without anyone being aware.

Since the ambient lighting is being used in this case to make people more aware of a feature, Tesla could also use it in other modes, such as Dog Mode.

There are a lot of potential uses for ambient lighting. Tesla can make it glow while the vehicle is charging, with the brightness potentially related to the vehicle's charge level.

Supercharger Site Info at Arrival

When you navigate to a Supercharger, new icons in the charger list will indicate locations that require valet service or pay-to-park access.

Upon arrival at the location, a notification will appear on your screen, displaying important details such as access codes, parking restrictions, level/floor information for parking garages, and restroom availability. This information will also be available on the site card in the navigation.

Equalizer Presets

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Tesla has moved the audio settings from the music player, directly into the vehicle settings — making them much easier to find. In addition to creating a new “Audio” section in settings, you can now create and save equalizer presets.

Each preset can have a name, custom EQ settings, and a setting for immersive audio.

max_bracco/X

Onboarding Guide

Not a Tesla App

Tesla has introduced a new Onboarding Guide for new owners. The guide covers driver settings, touchscreen use, steering wheel and seat setup, and how to control key portions of the vehicle, including lights, wipers, and Autopilot features.

The Onboarding Guide is automatically initiated when a new owner accepts delivery of a Tesla, or can be manually initiated at any time by going to Controls > Service > Onboarding Guide.

This appears to only be available for the new Model 3 and new Model Y.

Rollout

Update 2025.26

FSD Supervised 12.6.4 & 13.2.9
Installed on 1.5% of fleet
58 Installs today
Last updated: Jul 18, 11:45 pm UTC

In typical Tesla fashion, this 2025.26 update is rolling out gradually in small waves initially. Three waves have already gone out, so all signs are looking good for it going into a wide release soon.

Latest Tesla Update

Confirmed by Elon

Take a look at features that Elon Musk has said will be coming soon.

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Latest Tesla Update

Confirmed by Elon

Take a look at features that Elon Musk has said will be coming soon.

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