Tesla
When you get into your car, what are some of the first things you do? Put on your seatbelt, test the brakes, and of course — boot up some good tunes. I'm an audiophile as much as the next girl; despite my daily driving of classic cars, I will always make the concession for that connectivity so I can listen to my music. Historically, this has been an issue for some car manufacturers; for example, Tesla has been reluctant to add Apple CarPlay support. Well, good news: those days will soon be over, as according to Bloomberg, Tesla is working to include Apple CarPlay in its cars.
To put it bluntly, if I buy a new car, I don't want to have to download a bunch of third-party fluff just to be able to sync my phone up. I'd rather go next door to Honda or Toyota and buy a functionally identical vehicle that actually supports these features, because all I need is a safe, reliable, and convenient set of wheels. Why is it even a debate, though? Isn't this supposed to be a simple fix? The short answer: No.
The problem stems from proprietary software, where automakers like GM are basically trying to do it all themselves and removing popular apps like Apple CarPlay, which isn't exactly turning out well. Given how many people have iPhones, not being able to sync it with your car's system has proven a deal-breaker for some, to the point that even the rumors of Tesla claiming this feature may show up in the future feel like a Christmas miracle. So what's the holdup? Let's explore.
Why Tesla didn't have Apple CarPlay in the first place
Tesla
The first problem is one of hubris: Elon Musk has been openly critical of Apple for years. His beef culminated in the late-2010s to early-2020s, with Musk claiming that the corporation lacked the old innovation it was known for. Moreover, Musk has good reason to dislike Apple beyond his personal opinions of the corporation's repetitive design architecture: its history of poaching Tesla engineers to develop technologies such as self-driving advancements.
Likely because of this feud, Tesla vehemently kept its distance from Apple products in general, made doubly easy because, like GM, Tesla uses its own proprietary software in its passenger cars. As for why they're teasing the idea now, I personally believe it's to help offset declining sales figures. Tesla has slumped recently for a myriad of reasons, having peaked in 2023 with 1,808,581 cars produced and steadily falling since. It's been cited in the past that some of these sales losses are due to the lack of Apple CarPlay, with one survey claiming that around half of new car buyers wouldn't get a car without this feature, third-party support or not.
And let's not forget that this is the same company that, in the past few years, thought it was a good idea to mass-produce the Cybertruck. Tesla is also now building cars with literally no dashboard, just a tablet in the middle, forcing you to take your eyes off the road to check your car's basic data. It's not been a particularly spectacular past few years, either from a design or practicality standpoint, and this is reflected at the dealership. What, then, is an easy way to attract buyers back without re-engineering vehicles? Add software features that people have been requesting for years.
Will it have any impact?
Tesla
If Elon Musk actually pulls the trigger here, I imagine the reception would be almost universally positive, and both experts and owners seem to share this sentiment. Major outlets like MotorTrend and Car and Driver eagerly await further news, though they criticize the lack of CarPlay Ultra, meaning you'll still need additional software for that (if we get it at all). Owners often complain about Tesla's audio integration, with Apple CarPlay being a central theme in addressing an otherwise large blemish for the car's user interface. Of course, many aren't particularly optimistic, with some posts speculating it'll be locked behind a paywall — which honestly wouldn't surprise me, given that Tesla didn't even bother to put a clear coat on the Cybertruck.
While integrating this highly requested feature would likely bolster sales in the short term, it's a temporary fix. After all, Teslas are just EVs — most major manufacturers have them nowadays, so they're not particularly special anymore, especially not after the EV rebate program ended. And they're even less special considering other manufacturers have nicer interiors and better-equipped audio systems for similar prices: Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Subaru Solterra, Kia EV6, and so on.
With fierce competition overseas and domestically, deliberately omitting a popular feature like Apple CarPlay (likely out of pure spite) certainly isn't helping the company's sales figures. And now that other manufacturers can pick up the slack and Tesla continues to fumble, that deficit will only increase, not least of which because manufacturers are now beginning to offer Apple CarPlay Ultra.