CarPlay has been a top request from Tesla owners for years, and it seems like the automaker is finally about to deliver.
A new report from Bloomberg claims that Tesla has started testing the feature amongst employees, which suggests that it might make it out to the rest of the world soon. If it does, this would go against earlier comments made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk stating that Tesla’s infotainment was good enough that they didn’t need CarPlay.
The report indicates that it may be released in the coming months, but a formal launch plan has not been established yet, so that date could slide. Plus, there’s always the Elon factor, which throws a small wildcard element into everything Tesla does. So maybe, it won’t be released at all.
The report says that if/when it comes out, it will run in a window inside the existing Tesla software. This is similar to how it works in Ford cars and older GM models before that automaker stopped supporting phone-projection systems. This version is also the normal CarPlay mode, not the newer CarPlay Ultra that’s in the most recent Aston Martin. That said, it is planning to support Wireless CarPlay.
However, since it has been a long-requested feature and Tesla isn’t the king of EVs like it used to be, I’d imagine it needs to offer more perks than it did in the past, and CarPlay is a great feature that a lot of non-techie people really like. So, as Tesla works to appeal to more people than its early adopter audience, I think this will help a lot.
A recent survey by McKinsey & Co. indicates that a third of buyers consider not having access to CarPlay or Android Auto a deal breaker. Although that number isn’t as high as I expected, I imagine it will grow over time. I also expect that, while not a deal-breaker for everyone, CarPlay/Android Auto is a welcome perk.
Source: Bloomberg
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