Apple Music Audio Quality in Your Tesla Compared to Spotify and Tidal

By Lennon Cihak
A look at Apple Music's audio quality
A look at Apple Music's audio quality
MacRumors/Twitter

Apple Music may be available in Tesla’s new holiday update, but don’t expect the lossless audio quality that Apple Music subscribers enjoy… at least not yet.

Tesla owner and software developer Dan Burkland recently performed some tests on the audio quality that Tesla’s in-car streaming services TIDAL, Spotify, and now Apple Music stream at in the vehicle.

Burkland tested TIDAL previously on a different Tesla software version, but with Tesla’s ever-changing software and the rollout of the holiday update, he chose to run the tests again.

Setup and Songs Used to Test

He connected his Model Y to his home's WiFi network and used a DHCP reservation, which allowed him to have the vehicle use a specific IP address. He then installed ntopng on his OPNsense firewall to monitor traffic statistics for the vehicle. After zeroing out the host stats for the Model Y, he tested a total of nine songs, including “Purple Rain” by Prince, “Foreplay” by Boston, and “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin.

Results

The results of Burkland’s tests concluded that TIDAL still offers the best listening experience. The average bitrate for TIDAL was ~1165 kbps. This isn’t entirely too shocking, as TIDAL has always championed the highest-quality audio streaming experience.

Surprisingly, Spotify’s audio quality came in ahead of Apple Music to nab second place. Burkland’s tests showed Spotify streaming at an average bitrate of ~157 kbps, while Apple Music came in at a subpar ~118 kbps.

Burkland added that he believes Apple Music is limiting bitrate for the in-car app, but a future update to Tesla’s software will hopefully resolve this. If Tesla can enable lossless streaming for Apple Music, it’ll give TIDAL a run for its money in high-fidelity streaming via the in-car app.

Check out some of Dan’s test results below, or for a complete list view his Reddit thread.

So Many Tears by 2Pac Young Lust by Pink Floyd Dancing In The Dark by Bruce Springsteen
Length (MM:SS) 3:59 3:30 4:05
Length (Seconds) 239 210 245
Est. Data Transfer @ 96 Kbps (MB) 2.80 2.46 2.87
Est. Data Transfer @ 128 Kbps (MB) 3.73 3.28 3.83
Est. Data Transfer @ 160 Kbps (MB) 4.67 4.1 4.79
Est. Data Transfer @ 192 Kbps (MB) 5.60 4.92 5.74
Est. Data Transfer @ 256 Kbps (MB) 7.47 6.56 7.66
Est. Data Transfer @ 320 Kbps (MB) 9.34 8.2 9.57
Est. Data Transfer @ 1411 Kbps (MB) 41.17 36.17 42.2
Apple Music (MB) 4.10 3.20 4.80
Apple Music (Bitrate - Kbps) 140.53 124.83 160.50
Spotify (MB) 6.70 5.80 2.90
Spotify (Bitrate - Kbps) 229.65 226.26 96.97
Tidal (MB) 27.40 21.50 30.50
Tidal (Bitrate - Kbps) 939.17 838.70 1019.82

Other Tesla Owners Are Running Similar Tests

Reddit user u/OverlyOptimisticNerd ran similar tests with a slightly different configuration. They used an iPhone 14 as a mobile hotspot, Hotspot Monitor Data Usage from Apple’s App Store, and 2019 Model 3 running version 2022.44.25.1.

During their tests, they observed the same pattern across all songs, citing that a bunch of data rolled in at the beginning of the tests and then slowly trickled through. The low data rate for Apple Music appears to align with the company’s HE-AAC codec at 64 kbps.

“It appears to buffer most or even all of the song, then pause between tracks to do it again,” writes u/OverlyOptimisticNerd. “On average, I saw ~2MB per track, with ~1.7MB during the initial burst and ~0.3MB throughout the track. This is consistent with the HE-AAC standard, as most of these songs were a little over 3 minutes in length.”

While Apple Music may come in at the lowest average bitrate of all three services tested, it's important to note that it doesn't necessarily mean it has the lowest quality. Audio quality comes down to a variety of factors, some of which are, the bitrate, whether it's a variable rate, and the efficiency of the audio codec used.

Apple Music's HE-ACC codec is optimized for low-bandwidth applications meaning that it can outperform an ACC-encoded file in lower-bandwidth situations. In the real-world Apple Music in your Tesla should sound very similar to streaming music from Spotify, but not as good as TIDAL's offerings.

Tesla Software Update 2025.2 -- The Lesser Known Features (Undocumented Changes)

By Not a Tesla App Staff
@TeslaNewswire

Another Tesla update has finished rolling out to the fleet and we once again have a list of undocumented features in this update. Tesla update 2025.2 was the first update of the year and it brought along features such as wiper improvements for the Cybertruck, support for the cabin radar, and third-party charger preconditioning.

However, other changes made it into the release as well but weren’t mentioned in the release notes. If you love following Tesla software changes or just want to be aware of all changes in your vehicle, these will help keep you updated.

Autopilot Warnings

Tesla has now carried over some of the updated warnings from FSD to regular Autopilot.

Warnings such as “Autopilot will not brake” when the accelerator pedal is actively pressed and others will now be presented at the top in a translucent rectangle, instead of near the bottom, where they can be easily missed.

Supercharger Notification

Not a Tesla App

After using a Supercharger, your vehicle will now display a notification with the total cost of the charging session. In addition to the cost, the alert will also display the location, total energy added, and the cost per kW/h.

This is a really nice addition as it brings the price of the charging session front and center when it matters most — as soon as you’re done charging. Previously, you could navigate to Controls > Charging to see the cost of charging.

Recommended Tire Pressure

Not a Tesla App

The Tire Pressure card on the Model 3 and Model Y will now show you the recommended tire pressure in the bottom left corner of the card. It continues to display the tire pressure reading for each wheel.

Service Mode

Max Bracco / X

As usual, Service Mode sees several improvements to make serving your vehicle easier.

Brake Burnishing: The Brake Burnish procedure parameters have been updated to reduce the need for coming to almost a complete stop during each cycle.

Legacy Model S and Model X only.

Charge Port Calibration: The charge port door calibration routine (PROC_CP_X_DOOR-SENSOR-CALIBRATION) and charge port latch calibration route (PROC_CP_X_LATCH-CALIBRATION) have been added to the Charging panel. Those routines are required to be run following the replacement of the charge port or charge port door.

All Model 3s and Model Ys.

Signal Viewer Panel: A new Signal Viewer panel is available to monitor multiple signal values live on a graph. If one or more of the signal values is unavailable, the graph will stop updating. To access the new panel, tap Tools > Signal Viewer.

All vehicles with AMD Ryzen.

Noise Recording Panel: To improve the user experience, the recording duration has been decreased to 30 seconds, and reliability of the download routine PROC_ICE_X_FETCH-DIAGNOSTIC-AUDIO-RECORDS has been improved.

Cybertruck only.

Next Update

If you want to read about the official changes in this update, check out our release notes for 2025.2.

Update 2025.8.3

FSD Supervised 12.6.4 & 13.2.8
Installed on 2.5% of fleet
0 Installs today
Last updated: Mar 25, 1:10 pm UTC

Tesla has now started pushing software update 2025.8, but it’s currently only going out to a very small segment of vehicles. It’ll soon go out to more owners in larger waves, but if you’re interested in seeing what’s coming take a look at our 2025.8 update release notes and the undocumented features we’re aware of so far.

Tesla Reveals Number of Cybertrucks Sold in Trim Replacement Recall

By Karan Singh
@TeslaTruckClub on X

Tesla has issued a voluntary recall for all Cybertrucks built to date, for an issue with the Cant Rail - the upper trim piece on the sides of the vehicle that sits above the window glass. This is a pretty big deal that it reveals some key information - in fact, it is the Cybertruck’s first full-blown recall that will impact all vehicles.

The Issue

The Cant Rail, being a thin piece of metal attached to a narrow portion of the vehicle, is currently held down by a single bolt and automotive-grade adhesives. Tesla has noted that the adhesives are becoming brittle due to heat and cold cycles over time, resulting in some vehicles having the trim pieces either break or fall off.

This has been an ongoing issue with the Cybertruck - but was previously considered resolved as the issue mostly went away as Tesla improved their adhesive application. 

As of March 20th, Tesla issued a voluntary recall to address the problem after conducting an engineering survey to determine a fix.

Tesla Reveals Number of Cybertrucks Sold

Tesla doesn’t break out Cybertruck sales on their earnings report, instead lumping it into an “Other Models” category that includes Model S, Model X, and Semi sales in addition to the Cybertruck. Since Tesla needs to reveal how many Cybertrucks are affected by this issue, this is our first official glimpse into how many Cybertrucks Tesla has sold.

The recall shows that Tesla has sold 46,096 Cybertrucks to date, which is the number of vehicles recalled. An estimated 1% of vehicles (approximately 460) have the defect, and Tesla has had 151 warranty claims to date in relation to the Cant Rail issue, which have already been remedied. As usual, no fatalities, collisions, or other injuries are related to this issue have been noted.

You can review the recall notice here if you’re interested.

The Fix

The fix to this issue is to fully replace the Cant Rail. That means that Tesla will be removing the existing Cant Rail from the vehicle - which is attached with adhesives - and then replacing it with a new part that uses a new structural adhesive that will not face environmental embrittlement, alongside being reinforced with a nut that will clamp the panel to the vehicle’s structure. Tesla will also weld the panel with an interior stud, solidifying the whole assembly.

Overall, it doesn’t sound like it’ll be a quick and easy fix, but it will be a very solid fix that should make sure that no more of these trim pieces fly off.

Wraps and Coatings

Those who have wrapped, coated, or otherwise treated the surface of their Cybertrucks will be in for a bit of a problem with this particular recall. The existing Cant Rail will be entirely removed from the vehicle, and replaced with a new piece, as mentioned above.

Because of this, the old Cant Rail exterior will no longer be on your vehicle - which includes your wrap or coating. When you go in for this recall, you will need to get the Cant Rails on your vehicle re-wrapped or re-coated, at your own expense.

Tesla is not providing reimbursement at this time for wraps or coatings done by third parties. If Tesla has installed your wrap due to a wrap promotion or through the in-house Tesla Wrap Program, you’ll want to confirm with your local service department if they can source and replace the wrap. 

At this time, there’s been no official guidance from Tesla on in-house wraps, but we expect that because this is a recall and the wrap is a service from Tesla. Hopefully, we’ll hear something officially soon.

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