June 8, 2022
By Alex Jones
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.”
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.
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.
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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).
June 6, 2022
By Alex Jones
While Teslas are filled with a plethora of industry-leading features, new owners are often surprised by the incredible quality of the Tesla audio system and its audio features.
In fact, it is believed that Tesla’s sound systems are on-par with premium Bang and Olufsen systems ($12,000 optional sound system in vehicles like the Audi A8). Elon Musk even admitted in a tweet that they used former Bang and Olufsen engineers to design the audio systems found in the Model 3 and Model Y.
Tesla continues to refine the audio experience for Tesla owners, as indicated by the release of the new subwoofer equalizer settings as of update 2021.44.25.
With this incredible audio experience standard across all models, it should come as no surprise that music streaming is a priority for Tesla.
Premium Connectivity
Part of the selling points of Tesla’s Premium Connectivity is the seamless music streaming abilities offered by Tesla.
With a Premium Connectivity plan, drivers can easily stream audio without the use of cellphone pairing solutions or Bluetooth streaming.
Bluetooth Audio
If a Tesla driver chooses not to purchase the Tesla Premium Connectivity Plan, they can stream audio via Bluetooth from their cellphone.
Audiophiles would point out that the act of streaming via Bluetooth degrades the quality of the music to compress the data stream for wireless transmission. A physical connection with a USB cable connected to a cellphone is not currently supported by Tesla.
Hotspot
In addition, drivers can use their cellphone as a hotspot, allowing the vehicle to stream audio such as Spotify using their device’s data connection.
When using your device as a hotspot, you’ll have access to almost all of Tesla’s features included in Premium Connectivity. These include audio and video streaming services like Spotify and Netflix (accounts with these services are still required), Caraoke and more.
The only options it doesn’t include are live traffic visualizations and satellite-view maps.
Available Tesla Music Streaming Services
Like many modern vehicle manufacturers, Tesla has focused on developing an infotainment ecosystem that relies on streaming services to deliver music and podcast streams to the driver via Wi-Fi and cellular connections.
Many of these services are premium services not routinely found in standard car software. Currently, Tesla offers a direct stream from Slacker, Spotify, TIDAL, and TuneIn. This is in addition to FM radio and SiriusXM for the Model S and Model X.
Tesla Streaming (Slacker Radio)
While branded as a Tesla streaming service, Tesla has partnered with Slacker Radio to provide a free Slacker Plus account (ad-free) to Tesla Premium Connectivity customers. In the US, this music service shows up in the vehicle simply as “Streaming.”
This account mirrors the features of a Slacker Premium account, enabling drivers to search for songs using voice commands, create and stream playlists, and enjoy curated streaming stations for their enjoyment.
Spotify
Arguably the most well-known of the streaming options, Spotify has built a reputation for exclusive high-quality podcasts and playlist management that makes them one of the most popular streaming services in the world (current market share of 31% of the global streaming market). While not known for its audio playback quality, Spotify’s streaming service offers an industry-leading catalog of material that is popular with Tesla drivers.
Although Spotify offers the ability to stream songs with a higher bit rate (HQ), it is currently not available in Teslas.
TIDAL
Tidal’s ad-free music streaming service is billed as a premium lossless music stream (indicating a higher quality audio experience when compared to other Tesla streaming partners).
Tesla users with a TIDAL HiFi subscription can stream audio files at 1411 Kbps using a lossless codec that doesn’t sacrifice quality for streaming bandwidth speeds.
However, users have noted that streaming these lossless files over an LTE connection can cause frequent buffering issues due to the large file sizes.
TIDAL does offer the ability to download songs via Wi-Fi to prevent buffering issues.
TuneIn
A lesser-known subscription-based streaming product, TuneIn offers Tesla drivers ad-free streaming of music, news networks (CNBC, CNN, FOX News Radio, and MSNBC), and live play-by-play sports with no blackouts from the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL.
There is a free tier for TuneIn users interested in listening to their curated playlists and sports radio products.
You can simply navigate to TuneIn and start listening; no need to create an account.
SiriusXM
Popular for its large selection of curated music stations, talk radio catalog, and sports streaming, SiriusXM is a leading subscription and semi-ad-supported streaming solution for the U.S. and Canadian markets.
SiriusXM is only available in the Model S and Model X using a satellite receiver which is not available in the Model 3 or Model Y.
While there have been rumors of an internet-based SiriusXM streaming solution for other models, that solution has yet to appear in the Model 3 and Model Y.
Caraoke
Tesla Caraoke is Tesla’s version of the popular karaoke format. The free service (requires Premium Connectivity or Wi-Fi) allows drivers to play and sing popular karaoke songs directly from their car’s infotainment system.
USB Drive (Downloaded MP3s)
For owners who prefer to play their own downloaded music collection, Tesla also allows you to plug in a USB drive and play MP3s directly from your device.
This feature can be useful if you don’t subscribe to Tesla’s Premium Connectivity or sometimes drive in areas with poor reception.
Your USB drive will need to be formatted using exFAT for this to work. Once the drive is plugged in you’ll be able to access your music via a new USB icon available in the launcher.
Tesla will then let you view your music by artist, album, song title, or even search for your favorite songs.
Missing Streaming Services
Apple Music, the second most popular music streaming service in the US, remains absent from Tesla’s streaming lineup.
Amazon Music, a close third-place finisher, also remains absent from Tesla’s audio streaming options. Pandora is also not yet available from Tesla’s infotainment system.
While a YouTube video app is available in the Theater section of the Tesla infotainment system (while parked), YouTube’s music streaming service, YouTube Music, is currently not supported.
It should be noted that workarounds exist for playing content from excluded streaming services like Pandora, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Youtube Music, etc. through the use of Bluetooth streaming.
FM & AM Radio
Tesla’s also offer traditional FM radio. The Tesla interface will automatically show you all the available stations around you so that you quickly start listening to a station without having to use a dial.
Although older Model S and Model X vehicles had the ability to listen to AM radio, that capability is no longer available in newer cars. However, TuneIn has many stations available for streaming, so your favorite AM station may also be available to stream for free on TuneIn.
Apple AirPlay & CarPlay Rumors
Recently, Elon Musk indicated in a tweet that Tesla was considering the addition of AirPlay connectivity. While short of an Apple CarPlay integration, Apple Airplay would allow for improved audio streaming from iPhones when compared to current Bluetooth solutions.
June 5, 2022
By Kieran Burgess
WTTWOT! Or in plain English, Welcome To The World of Tesla! As you dip your toe in researching your much anticipated Tesla purchase online, or pull up for your first ever supercharge and strike up a conversation with the owner in the next (but one) stall, you’ll soon come across a new language: TWAs (Tesla World Acronyms). If you hadn’t stopped here, you might be scrabbling for words to keep up, but luckily you did stop here, and we’ve got you covered. You’ll be aware of some general EV (Electric Vehicle) and ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) abbreviations already, but if you want to know your SCs from your SuCs and more Tesla-specific TWAs, you’re in the right place.
Charging
CCS
Combined Charging System – a newer charging port that has become the standard in Europe and other markets
CHAdeMO
CHArge de MOve, a popular DC charging standard
J1772
AC power charging connection standard by SAE
MC
Tesla’s Mobile Connector that was previously included with vehicles. Older generations are called the Universal Mobile Connector (UMC)
HPWC
Tesla’s wall connector used to be called the High Power Wall Connector, but it is now just referred to as the Wall Connector
SC
OK, so this abbreviation comes up a lot in the Tesla community. And there are three possibilities with SC, so context is everything. SC can refer to the Service Center, which you hopefully won’t need. It can also refer to a SuperCharger in the Tesla network. Finally, it is occasionally used to refer to SolarCity, a solar energy company that was acquired by Tesla in 2016.
SuC
You might see this as an abbreviation for a Supercharger that helps to differentiate it from a Service Center.
SOC
State of Charge. The percentage your battery is charged.
PPU
Pay Per Use, for charging either at Superchargers or other public chargers
Electricity & Energy
AC
Alternating Current – the electricity in your house uses alternating current
DC
Direct Current – energy stored in batteries uses direct current
NEC
The National Electrical Code is a common standard for electrical wiring and equipment in the US
NEMA
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association is the largest association of electrical equipment in the US
NEMA 14-50
This common plug is often used to charge EVs and provides a maximum 50 amps of power, however EVs should only use up to 40 amps due to a constant load.
kW
Kilowatt (1000 watts, a unit of electric power)
kWh
Kilowatt-hours on the other hand refers to how much energy has been consumed in total. It is an absolute figure, equivalent to gallons or liters of gas burned in an ICE car.
Wh/mi
Not a Tesla-exclusive term, but an important one for EV owners. Watt-hours per mile is the EV equivalent of MPG, and tells us how much energy is being used per mile. Lower is better.
Regen
Again, an EV term rather than Tesla only, but you’ll see it used a lot in the Tesla community. It’s short for Regenerative Braking, and refers to the re-capture of kinetic energy by the battery when slowing down, or going down a steep hill. Regen is often the biggest thing new Tesla owners notice and have to adapt to. Once you do, there is no going back!
Computing Hardware
CPU
Central Processing Unit – the main chip in a computer responsible for processing data
GPU
Graphics Processing Unit – some computers contain a processor specifically made for rendering graphics
MCU
The Media Control Unit is the big touchscreen in the middle of the dashboard, and the computer that drives it. The car’s various radios, and all the entertainment and drive-related visualizations are routed through here. You may come across some numbers attached to MCU that specify the hardware version.
MCU1
MCU1 refers to Tesla’s first Media Control Unit hardware which was used in Model S and Model X vehicles until March 2018
MCU2
This is Tesla’s second general Media Control Unit hardware. It was used in Model S and Model X cars after March 2018. The Model 3 and Model Y started with MCU2 and later transitioned to MCU3 in late 2021. Vehicles with MCU1 can be upgraded to MCU2. MCU2 has the Intel Atom processor.
MCU3
This is Tesla’s third and latest MCU hardware. It contains AMD Ryzen’s chip, making it much faster than MCU2. For the Model S and Model X it also features a dedicated GPU that will be used for high quality games that rival the PS5 and Xbox Series X. There is no official word from Tesla yet, but MCU2 does not appear to be upgradeable to MCU3.
HW1
Hardware 1 refers to Tesla’s original hardware for Autopilot. It was supplied by MobileEye and was only available on the Model S and Model X.
HW2
Around October 2016 Tesla transitioned to their own hardware with version 2.0. This was also only available for the Model S and Model X.
HW2.5
Hardware 2.5 was available in the Model 3 and the Model S and Model X around July 2017.
HW3.0
Tesla eventually released hardware 3.0 in April 2019, which features much faster processors. Owners who bought the FSD package (not the subscription) and had hardware 2.5 are given a free upgrade to hardware 3.0.
ECU
The Electronic Control Unit is the hardware in a vehicle used to control various driving functions.
eMMC
Embedded Multi Media Card is flash storage that is used to store certain information.
IC
An Integrated Circuit, is a chip that is integrated onto a circuit board. This could could refer to the Instrument Cluster on a Model S or Model X.
PCB
Printed Circuit Board used in electronic systems.
Driver Assistance System
DAS
Driver Assistance System, in Tesla’s case this would be Autopilot
AP
Autopilot is the term that allows Tesla’s to perform some level of self-driving. All Teslas today include basic Autopilot that allows the car to use TACC (Traffic-Aware Cruise Control) and Autosteer.
EAP
Enhanced Autopilot is a package that is a subset of FSD. Tesla offered it for a number of years, but it no longer offers it.
Enhanced Autopilot included features such as TACC (Traffic-Aware Cruise Control), Autosteer, Smart Summon, Autopark, automatic lane changes and more. It does not include as much as the FSD package, which allows the car to also navigate on city streets.
FSD
Full Self-Driving. Refers to the package that currently, in beta form, allows Teslas to navigate many more streets and scenarios by itself (with an alert and engaged driver on standby). In Europe and Asia FSD is still limited, but cars with the FSD package are ready to go from a hardware perspective as soon as the regulations allow.
TACC
Traffic-Aware Cruise Control – All Teslas today compare standard with TACC.
These are the Tesla acronyms and abbreviations you’ll encounter most often. Which ones are new to you? Have you come across any others?
Software
UI
UI stands for User interface, also commonly referred to as GUI (graphical user interface).
You’ll often find this term when referring to the design of a piece of software.
UX
UX is the User Experience of a piece of software.
OTA
OTA stands for Over-The-Air, referencing Tesla’s ability to download car updates over Wi-Fi or in some cases using the vehicle’s cellular data.
Car Features
DRL
Daytime Running Lights are lights on your vehicle that remain on even during daylight.
IC
The Instrument Cluster on a Model S or Model X. This term could also mean Integrated Circuit which is a chip that is integrated onto a circuit board.
TPMS
A vehicle’s Tire Pressure Monitoring System
HVAC
The Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning system in a home or vehicle
Governing Bodies & Agencies
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
IIHS
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (for safety ratings)
EU
European Union
NHTSA
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – The U.S. federal government agency that governs vehicle safety.
SAE International
Formerly known as the Society of Automotive Engineers, it’s a US-based association for developing standards for engineering professionals
Tesla / EV Terms
GF
GigaFactory – What Tesla calls their various factories, such as Giga Factory Texas
ICE
ICE refers to traditional gas and diesel-powered vehicles that contain an Internal Combustion Engine
ICEd
Being ICEd refers to an EV charging spot being taken up by an ICE vehicle
SA
Tesla’s Service Advisors which are the main contact at Tesla Service
Investing
TSLA
TSLA is Tesla’s stock symbol but the term is often used around someone investing in Tesla as well
TSLAQ
TSLAQ is pronounced “Tesla Q” and refers to individuals who publicly criticize Tesla and may be short-selling (the opposite of buying stock when profits are earned when the stock goes down) Tesla stock
FUD
FUD stands for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt and is sometimes used when someone is spreading misinformation to cast fear
Batteries
LFP
This is referring to the battery chemistry in the car’s high voltage pack, specifically the chemical symbols for Lithium (L), Iron (F) and Phosphate (P is actually for Phosphorus on its own, but PO₄³⁻ doesn’t have the same ring to it). Tesla started shifting some of its shorter-range cars (the SR MYs and M3s) to LFP in 2021, away from battery chemistry involving Nickel and Cobalt.
Even if you’re not a chemist, it’s still worth knowing which battery chemistry you have. It is recommended to keep LFP battery charge limit at 100%, unlike the previous Li-ion batteries that are stressed out if charged fully too often.
4680
Staying with the high voltage battery, 4680 refers to the newer battery technology that is being phased in at Giga Berlin, Giga Texas and Giga Shanghai. These batteries offer efficiency, range and cost improvements over the previous, smaller batteries. The numbers come from the dimensions of each individual cell: 46 x 80mm.
Tesla Models
SR
Standard Range. For example, a M3SR refers to the Model 3 Standard Range model.
SR+
The Standard Range Plus variant has a larger battery than the Standard Range and some additional features.
MR
Mid Range vehicle which was available for the Model 3 (discontinued)
LR
Long Range model which includes a larger battery than other variants. For example, a M3LR refers to the Model 3 Long Range model.
P
Performance model. This could refer to the performance model of any Tesla vehicle.
P3D
The performance variant of the Model 3 dual motor
P3D+
Performance Model 3. This term was used when Tesla offered the Model 3 with and without the additional performance hardware such as larger wheels and disc brakes and a spoiler. This model is commonly referred to as the P3D.
P3D-
The performance Model 3 without all the features in the P3D+
M3P
The same as P3D
MY
Simply referring to the Tesla Model Y
MX
Model X
MS
Model S
M3
Model 3
CT
Cybertruck
Motors & Drives
DM
DM refers to a Dual Motor vehicle
AWD
All Wheel Drive – In a Tesla, this means that at least two motors are powering the vehicle. Some cars contain two rear motors and a single front motor, while all Model 3s and Model Ys will contain a single front and rear motor.
RWD
RWD refers to the car being a rear-wheel drive vehicle. In Teslas that means that there’s a single motor in the back powering the car.
Alternatively, you might see a M3RWD (Model 3 Rear Wheel Drive).
General Information
EV
Electric Vehicle
PHEV
Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (ICE/EV combo)
LHD
Left-hand drive
RHD
Right-hand drive, as used in Australia, England and Japan
OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer
Artificial Intelligence
NN
Neural Network refers to AI and is a subset of Machine Learning (ML) that Tesla uses to develop Autopilot
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