Emily Schubert, a senior manager for Apple presenting at Apple’s WWDC 2022 event, couldn’t sum up the impact of CarPlay better: 98% of new cars available in the US have CarPlay compatibility.
According to Apple, 79% of car buyers wouldn’t buy a car unless it was CarPlay/Android Auto capable.
You have to hand it to Apple, they managed to fundamentally change the auto industry in the eight years since CarPlay was introduced.
Offering a superior internet-connected car UI experience to the various proprietary (and frequently painfully slow and unintiutive) automaker infotainment systems, CarPlay has dominated the auto market.
Doubling-down on the success of CarPlay in dictating UI interfaces and interactions with entertainment and navigation functions, it appears Apple is interested in taking more UI-design and control away from automakers.
New CarPlay Features Coming in 2023
The next version of CarPlay will integrate more car-based functions, enabling the control of systems like climate control and the display of information like speedometer data.
Apple describes the next iteration of CarPlay (available in 2023) as “the ultimate iPhone experience for the car. It provides content for all the driver’s screens including the instrument cluster, ensuring a cohesive design experience that is the very best of your car and your iPhone. Vehicle functions like radio and temperature controls are handled right from CarPlay. And personalization options ranging from widgets to selecting curated gauge cluster designs make it unique to the driver.”
Car controls will now be able to be incorporated into CarPlay
Apple
The infotainment and instrument gauge cluster mock-up that Apple used in the presentation was stunning (as one would expect from a mock-graphic from a multi-billion dollar technology company).
The icon tray, in truth, resembled Tesla’s latest UI changes. The incredibly large and immersive screen, however, resembled the 65” MBUX Hyperscreen found in the Mercedes EQS design.
Automanufactuers have lined up to implement the new integration demands from Apple. Partners include Land Rover, Mercedes, Porsche, Nissan, Ford, Lincoln, Audi, Jaguar, Acura, Volvo/Polestar, Honda, Renault, and Infiniti. Noticeably absent was Tesla.
Tesla has an odd history with Apple. There were even rumored attempts to sell Tesla to Apple in 2015. The current speculation for a lack of CarPlay support is that Tesla is hesitant to give up their mostly successful UI design and control in favor of CarPlay.
In Tesla's defense, Tesla doesn't have a painfully slow infotainment like most automakers. Old automakers are happy to give up control of their infotainment system to Apple to help improve the user experience.
With this iteration of CarPlay, Apple is offering a whole car experience, meaing it not only has a dock to navigate to your favorite iPhone apps, but also to change car specific functions.
Functions such as adjusting your vehicle's climate control, and seat heaters.
However, Teslas have many features that likely wouldn't fit into CarPlay's offerings. Features such as the Toybox, car visualizations, Dashcam, Sentry Mode, and popular HVAC features such as Dog Mode and many others.
Advantages of CarPlay
The inclusion of CarPlay would mean that Teslas would instantly gain a huge amount of new audio streaming services and apps, along with better text messaging integration and Siri support.
Tesla owners would finally have access to SiriusXM, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube Music and so many more services that have been highly requested by Tesla owners. Tesla has a good set of audio choices, but there are countless music streaming services nowadays.
The same could be true for video streaming, where Tesla owners wouldn't be limited to YouTube, Netflix and a couple others.
Apple CarPlay and Google's Android Auto have the huge advantage of having a robust ecosystem with millions of developers. We spend hours a day on these devices and store our most important information on them, such as photos, health and financial informaiton and more.
Phone apps already exist to do almost anything imagaineable. This makes it difficult for Tesla to compete with the amount of data and apps available on our devices.
Furthermore, Apple is adding widgets to CarPlay in this iteration. Widgets that could show you the weather, our workout activity, access to home controls and more.
Apple CarPlay will support custom layouts with widgets
Apple
Some of things these Tesla may never be able to incorporate because they don't have access to the user's data.
Disadvantages of adding CarPlay
For Tesla to implement CarPlay it could mean giving up a certain amount of control of their UI.
Some initial questions that come up are how would visualizations, AutoPilot controls and other features tie into CarPlay?
Would CarPlay live on a portion of the screen, leaving other portions available to Tesla specific features? Would it require two docks, one for CarPlay functions and another for Tesla specific functions such as Dashcam access and Caraoke?
Although Apple is offering various layout options for the speedometer and other features, Tesla would still be limited to Apple's offerings.
If Tesla were to adopt CarPlay, Tesla would likely have to adopt a similar UI to Apple's for their own features, so that CarPlay and Tesla functions would flow and the integration would look seamless.
This may be giving up more control than Tesla is willing to.
Competition is Heating Up
In addition, Tesla may be hesitant to partner with a company that is secretly designing an EV to directly compete with Tesla. Apple enthusiasts would point out that the new version of CarPlay does not require taking up the entire screen (and could be integrated into a window, similar to the jerry-rigged Tesla CarPlay solutions floating around the internet). But, ultimately, it is unclear if Tesla will budge on CarPlay implementation.
The impact of Apple’s latest CarPlay features remains to be seen, but one can’t deny that continuing to ignore customer demand for CarPlay functionality may ultimately affect demand for Tesla (as other car manufacturers start delivering their planned EV lineups).
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With most vehicles moving on to Tesla’s 2025.14 Spring Update, we’re now taking a look at all the undocumented features that were discovered during Tesla’s 2025.8 update.
While these features tend to be smaller in nature, some of them are just as valuable as the features outlined in Tesla’s release notes in the vehicle.
This update includes changes such as improvements to maps, trip meters, and Rainbow Road. Let’s take a look at all the undocumented features in Tesla’s 2025.8 software update.
New Map Icons
Not a Tesla App
Icons on the map are being redesigned to be rounder and easier to see. They now feature a white border to make them pop out against a colorful background, which is especially better when using satellite views.
This feature started rolling out slowly but should now be available to everyone.
Trips & Odometer
Not a Tesla App
The Trips display has been improved to show more precise information, and a new metric has been added.
More Precision: The trip meters will now show values with a tenths place when they’re under a certain value. That means that the Current Drive and Since Last Charge trip meters will now show a fractional kWh and a mile. This is especially useful for Current Drive.
The Current Drive meter is automatically reset when your vehicle comes out of park so that it can track your current drive, while the Since Last Charge meter automatically resets after a charging session completes.
More Data: In addition to added precision, the Current Drive now features a new data point. kWh is now shown for the current drive, just like the other trip meters. Previously, the Current Drive showed minutes instead of kWh -- it now features both.
These changes affect the Trips widget in the Model 3, Model Y and Cybertruck. While the added precision is also added to all vehicles under Controls > Trips, the new kWh metric for the Current Drive is only displayed in the small widget.
Additional Tool Tips
Not a Tesla App
Tesla has added some additional tips to the screen that show up in certain cases. For example, if you’re playing audio over Bluetooth, Tesla will suggest that you use their built-in music apps instead of streaming through your phone.
Destination Charging
Not a Tesla App
Destination charging icons are now visible on the map when you have Points of Interest enabled. You can enable Points of Interest by tapping on the map and choosing the Points of Interest icon on the right side near the satellite imagery icon.
Some destination chargers may charge a fee, while others may be open to the public or exclusive to paying customers.
Navigation Improvements
Not a Tesla App
If you're using Tesla's navigation system with voice guidance enabled, the spoken directions will now stop immediately when you end the trip. Previously, the spoken directions would continue being played until the phrase was completed.
Improved Rainbow Road
Not a Tesla App
The rainbow road feature has been greatly improved in this update with FSD. Rainbow road, which can be enabled in the Toybox app, now changes the vehicle's path when on Autopilot from a blue path to a rainbow one.
Previously, Tesla had to overlay the blue path on top of the rainbow colors because rainbow road didn’t support all the features of the path, such as showing chevrons when slowing down rapidly.
With this update, the rainbow path now incorporates all the same features as the blue path when FSD is active.
In addition, if you start Rainbow Road by tapping the right stalk four times, audio will play. Unfortunately, the sound couldn’t be stopped until it was completed before, but with this update, you can now stop the audio by reducing the volume with the left scroll wheel.
Additional Transparency Effects
Not a Tesla App
On Intel vehicles, several modules didn't include a transparency effect. This was primarily due to Intel cars not using the blur effect since it could slow down the infotainment unit.
With this update, Tesla has enabled the transparency effect across a set of modules. Notably, this fixes the issue when using full-screen visualizations where the music player had transparency, but the navigation module on the right did not.
Transparency has also been added to other modules that are displayed over the map, such as the list of Superchargers, destinations, search results, and the ETA / End Trip module displayed at the bottom.
Note: Due to the lack of the blur effect on Intel due to performance reasons, these changes could make some text more difficult to read.
No Phone Key Graphic
Not a Tesla App
The graphic that's displayed in the vehicle when it doesn't detect a phone key has been updated. Tapping on the blue text at the bottom displays the old animation showing you where to tap a key card.
Bluetooth Player
Not a Tesla App
The Bluetooth app typically only displays the connected devices and a button to connect a new device. There was a lot of white space, since there wasn’t much other information to display.
With this update, Tesla is making it easier to jump to another source by displaying available music streaming services underneath the connected Bluetooth device.
Tapping a music service will jump to the selected service.
Service Mode Release Notes
@scotsrule08 on X
As with most Tesla updates, Tesla usually adds or improves Service Mode with additional features, making diagnosing and fixing problems easier. This update adds or improves the following items.
New HVAC Panel
A new HVAC panel is available to support HVAC system diagnosis. It adds the ability to determine the status of the HVAC actuators, HEPA filter, and blower motor.
Applies to: Cybertruck
HV Battery Panel Update - Moved State of Health (SOH) Routine
The State of Health (SOH) routine in the HV Battery panel has been moved to the Controls > Service tab, which does not require entering Service Mode or Service Mode Plus.
Applies to: 2021+ Model S, 2021+ Model X, Model 3, Model Y
Windows Panel Update - Rear Defrost Routine
The rear defrost component on the Windows panel has been updated to simplify diagnostics. The re-enable routine will now be visible all the time, but it can only be ran when a condition requiring its usage is detected.
Applies to: 2021+ Model S, 2021+ Model X, Model 3, Model Y
Seats Panel Update - Cabin Radar and Seat Sensor
The Seats panel has been updated to show whether the cabin radar and/or seat sensor is being used to detect occupants in the front seats.
The gateway configuration for the steering column motor type can now be updated on the Steering panel.
Applies to: Model 3, Model Y
Service Mode Update - Media Source Switches to Bluetooth
When entering Service Mode, the Media Source will now automatically switch to Bluetooth to prevent the vehicle from playing media using the customer's connected media accounts.
Applies to: Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y
Charging Panel Update - Charge Port ECU Reset Routine
The Charge Port Electronic Control Unit (ECU) reset routine, TEST-RESET_CP, has been added to the Charging panel, which may be required after performing Charge Port related service.
Applies to: Model 3, Model Y, Palladium S, Palladium X, Cybertruck
Noise Recording Panel Update - Moved to Tools
The Noise Recording panel has been moved from the the High Voltage panel to the Tools panel. To access the panel, tap Tools > Noise Recording.
Applies to: Cybertruck
Coolant Panel Update - Coolant Purge Status Indicator
An indicator has been added to the Coolant panel to report the status of the coolant purge and whether the coolant purge needs to rerun.
Applies to: Cybertruck
Next Update
Tesla’s next update is the 2025.14 Spring Update, which has now rolled out to more than half of the Tesla fleet. If you’re still waiting for it, rest assured that you should be updated soon. If you’ve already updated, be sure to check out the undocumented features already found in the 2025.14 update.
Tesla has issued a strong denial in response to a Wall Street Journal report (Paywall) which claimed that Tesla’s Board of Directors had initiated a search for a new CEO.
In a statement posted directly on Tesla’s X account, Board Chair Robyn Denholm denied the report unequivocally. As per the statement, Tesla’s board did not reach out to recruiting firms in search of a new CEO.
Earlier today, there was a media report erroneously claiming that the Tesla Board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search at the company.
This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published).
The statement reaffirmed the board’s position on Tesla’s current leadership and that the board is highly confident in Elon’s ability to continue executing Tesla’s plans and future growth.
This confidence behind Elon follows his recent statements made during the Q1 2025 Earnings Call that he would be stepping back from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the coming days and significantly reducing time spent there. Instead, he would be returning to focus on Tesla’s operations and the upcoming deployment of Robotaxi.
Shortly after the denial was posted, Elon Musk also commented on the report, specifically tagging the Wall Street Journal and criticizing their handling of the report.
It is an EXTREMELY BAD BREACH OF ETHICS that the @WSJ would publish a DELIBERATELY FALSE ARTICLE and fail to include an unequivocal denial beforehand by the Tesla board of directors! https://t.co/9xdypLGg3c
We’re glad to see Tesla and Elon set the matter straight, but there could have been a better way to spread this message and maybe even prevent the report from WSJ from going out.
We recently published an opinion piece on why Tesla needs its PR team back, and this specific incident is a good example. Relying solely on platforms like X for critical corporate communications - and in this case, late at night (1 AM EST), with limited reach outside the existing follower base seems like an ineffective way of communicating important company information.
We’d love to see Tesla really put some thought into managing its image, as it seems that several recent reports from major financial news organizations have apparently been wrong.
Either way, the board’s stance is clear - there is no active search underway, and Elon has the full backing and support of the board to lead Tesla toward the future.
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