While automakers like General Motors have started to sour on Apple CarPlay, Tesla is reportedly working on integrating the system into its vehicles’ software stack.
The feature is in development, according to a Bloomberg report, which noted the effort could be cancelled before it is released to the public.
The move would mark a dramatic change for the automaker. Tesla has avoided requests from current and prospective customers to add CarPlay capability to its infotainment system. Apple CarPlay, as well as rival Android Auto, allows drivers to project their smartphone and many of its apps onto the car’s infotainment display. Tesla is focused on the standard CarPlay and not Apple’s next-generation and more capable version called CarPlay Ultra.
In lieu of CarPlay or Android Auto, Tesla has added native apps for streaming music services, including Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal. Based on user reports, the quality of those apps has been uneven. Those apps also require customers to subscribe to Tesla’s premium connectivity package, which costs $9.99 monthly or $99 annually.
The addition of CarPlay could entice some drivers who had written off Tesla to reconsider their decisions. Half of drivers surveyed by McKinsey a couple years ago said that they wouldn’t buy any vehicle lacking CarPlay or Android Auto.
