Apple Music may come standard in Tesla cars

The media got wind of a new integration into Tesla software just recently. Apple Music is rumored to be coming soon to the automaker's vehicle software.

The industry is seeing more phone mirroring with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, in order to get media and music playback inside the car. Tesla has been integrating music services and user apps directly into the main center console interface.

Tesla crying wolf for years

For a long time, Tesla has been integrating different music streaming services, testing what works best for their large displays in the center of the dashboard. The most widely talked about addition to the software lineup was Spotify. In the past year, the carmaker added Tidal.

Another rumor with a long lifespan is the integration of large music services like Apple Music and Amazon Music. It looks like now might be the time to make good on the rumors and be on the very edge of getting Apple Music.

It seems this is more than a guess at Apple Integration, as Tesla has been running its own tests on the app in their internal vehicles.

An interesting source

The news of an Apple Music integration comes from an interesting and somewhat off-the-beaten-path source. The patrons at the Petersen Museum, a Los Angeles car museum that is running a cooperative show with Tesla, include prototypes of Teslas to come soon. There were even a Roadster and Cybertruck.

Via a Reddit post, some of the people at the exhibit noticed that some of the Teslas that are set to come out soon were running Apple Music software with the other offerings from the integrated software package.

The app appears to be fully functional and ready to go, inside Tesla's own vehicles for display, but not yet being offered to customers.

The holiday release (update)

Fans of Tesla know they usually plan a large "holiday update" in late November or December, which usually has a bunch of new features to add on. There is the possibility that Apple Music could be updated in customer cars, during this major transfer.

Tesla already has a bevy of music and media apps in the software package and with the addition of even more apps, Tesla has made changes to its interface. This was instituted to make life easier for drivers and passengers, with a simpler way to manage music applications in the vehicles.

What Elon has said about Apple Music

Elon Musk had said of the likelihood of integrating Apple Music back in June, generally evading questions at an interview. That he only used Apple Music through Bluetooth in his own car.

When asked directly at the same interview, if the Apple Music App was coming to Tesla cars Musk had the dry reply, "what are we looking for here?”.

“I am one of the rare people who use Apple Music and Spotify. I just use Apple Music through Bluetooth,” added Musk afterward.

There were other sightings of the elusive app in Tesla autos, as far back as December 2020 but the code references had been removed this past July.

There would have to be a complete restructuring of the Tesla operating system, for Apple Music to reside with Apple CarPlay, and that is completely unlikely. But the addition of Apple Music is looking more and more like it will happen.

Keep your eyes on this space, because we all know, things could change overnight.