Tesla confirms Apple Podcasts coming in holiday update 'next week'

Testa entertainment system

Tesla has officially announced its annual software update, and as expected, the list of features includes the addition of Apple Podcasts to the cars' entertainment system.

The news of the Apple Podcasts app becoming available to Tesla drivers was previously leaked. However, older leaks reporting that AirPlay support would be coming have yet to turn out to be true.

Now, though, Tesla has confirmed the update and Apple Podcasts with an official announcement on Twitter/X.

The 2023 Holiday Update rolls out next week

Here's what's coming...

Custom Lock Sounds
Replace the horn lock sound of your vehicle with another sound— like a screaming goat

LAN Party on Wheels
Play your favorite games on the rear touchscreen

Rear Screen Bluetooth pic.twitter.com/Xl2Q6YgS2b
— Tesla (@Tesla) December 8, 2023

It's a significant move because Tesla famously does not support Apple's CarPlay. So this is a key CarPlay app making its appearance in Tesla's entertainment system for the first time.

Tesla says only that the "2023 Holiday Update rolls out next week," but reportedly employees already have it installed. So the lack of a specific date is most likely down to the need to roll it out worldwide to a large number of users.

All users should get this Holiday Update, but that does not mean that all Tesla drivers will get Apple Podcasts, though. To listen to any streaming service, including Apple Podcasts, drivers have to pay Tesla a further $10/month.

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13 Comments

Anilu_777

said about 4 months ago

One of the many reasons I will never buy a Tesla. Having CarPlay available means I’m getting access to what I already pay for: Apple Music - plus messaging etc that I use many times a day while commuting. No CarPlay, no sale.

alandail

said about 4 months ago

Anilu_777 said:

One of the many reasons I will never buy a Tesla. Having CarPlay available means I’m getting access to what I already pay for: Apple Music - plus messaging etc that I use many times a day while commuting. No CarPlay, no sale.

There is no need for CarPlay on a Tesla. They have Apple Music as a native app, they have messaging through your phone that works as well as CarPlay. And they are the safest cars on the planet, including Autopilot/FSD. I personally will never own a car without FSD because driving with it is 4x safer than driving without it. One day in a Tesla and you'll understand it's the iPhone of cars while everyone else is still shipping flip phones. And on top of everything else, they are constantly pushing software updates to improve the car. Our 2019 car runs the latest software, has the latest features, latest safety improvements. We just installed a software update yesterday that brought functionality it didn't have before.

tyler82

said about 4 months ago

Even though I think Teslas are the ugliest cars on the road and would never buy one, I always feel safer knowing one is behind or in front of me because of all the safety automation.

ihatescreennames

said about 4 months ago

alandail said:

Anilu_777 said:

One of the many reasons I will never buy a Tesla. Having CarPlay available means I’m getting access to what I already pay for: Apple Music - plus messaging etc that I use many times a day while commuting. No CarPlay, no sale.

There is no need for CarPlay on a Tesla.

My car has CarPlay and we use it all the time. One thing I like about it is if I ask my HomePod for the hours of a store and then head there, when I get into the car CarPlay offers to give me directions to that store. That works great for me at our second home where I’m less familiar with the area and tend to use navigation more often. Another thing it does is offer to give me navigation to the next appointment on my calendar. That works without having to share my calendar with a third party. We also use the HomePod Intercom feature quite a bit. For example, if I’ve run out to pick up some take-out I can send an Intercom announcement that I’m almost home and then the table is set and everyone is ready when I walk in the door. Does that stuff work with Tesla?

JonG

said about 4 months ago

ihatescreennames said:

alandail said:

Anilu_777 said:

One of the many reasons I will never buy a Tesla. Having CarPlay available means I’m getting access to what I already pay for: Apple Music - plus messaging etc that I use many times a day while commuting. No CarPlay, no sale.

There is no need for CarPlay on a Tesla.

My car has CarPlay and we use it all the time. One thing I like about it is if I ask my HomePod for the hours of a store and then head there, when I get into the car CarPlay offers to give me directions to that store. That works great for me at our second home where I’m less familiar with the area and tend to use navigation more often. Another thing it does is offer to give me navigation to the next appointment on my calendar. That works without having to share my calendar with a third party. We also use the HomePod Intercom feature quite a bit. For example, if I’ve run out to pick up some take-out I can send an Intercom announcement that I’m almost home and then the table is set and everyone is ready when I walk in the door. Does that stuff work with Tesla?

I've owned my Model Y since 2019. Originally I had a separate screen for CarPlay because I thought I couldn't live without it. I was wrong. Sold the adapter after 3 months of not using it. I miss CarPlay a little, but the navigation in the car is much better for an EV, because of the automatic integration of the charging network. When I need to charge on a long trip (charge at home when I am not traveling far) it automatically routes me and pre-heats the battery for charging. I've run it alongside Waze and others, and the routing is just as good if not better.

It syncs my calendar via the app and auto-routes to my next appointment, and will automatically pick up my habits and route me to the train station first thing in the morning, and back to the house at night. I have a bunch of Shortcut automations as well that pre-heat/pre-cool the car before I leave in the morning, remind me to charge at night if I am below a certain level. In addition I can use Siri to open/close the trunk. The auto-tie-in with my garage door means that as I pull into the driveway the door opens for me, and after I pull out of the garage it auto closes (unless I manually cancel either).

The voice command inside the Tesla is lacking, I will totally admit. But Siri works fine. To your example about take out, I have a Shortcut that I've setup so that when I say "Hey Siri, Take-Out Coming Home" it both sends a pre-recorded message to the whole home intercom as well as texting my wife and kids, for the same reason you mention. It also auto shares my ETA in the message so they know when I'll be back.

The integration isn't perfect, but it certainly works well enough that I only miss CarPlay when I'm working with Podcasts and Audible. However, Apple Podcasts is coming out native before the end of the year, so at least one down!