Tesla Poised for Big U-Turn as Apple CarPlay Nears Launch

Tesla may be on the brink of reversing one of its most controversial decisions. After years of rejecting Apple CarPlay and insisting its own infotainment system was superior, the EV giant is now internally testing Apple CarPlay integration — a move that could dramatically reshape the Tesla driving experience.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Tesla engineers have quietly started running CarPlay tests inside company vehicles. This represents a major shift for the automaker, which has long refused to adopt either of the industry’s standard smartphone-to-car platforms — Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. While even budget cars offer these features as default, Tesla has doubled down on its proprietary interface for nearly a decade.

Why the U-Turn Matters

CarPlay allows drivers to mirror essential iPhone functions directly on the car’s touchscreen — navigation, calls, messages, music, podcasts, and more. For millions of users, it’s become a must-have feature.

Tesla, however, resisted it for two main reasons:

Elon Musk’s stance: Musk has openly criticized Apple, especially its App Store policies, and expressed frustration when Apple hired several Tesla engineers for its now-shelved EV project.

Ecosystem control: Adopting CarPlay would mean handing over part of the in-car experience to Apple — something Tesla has historically avoided.

Yet customer demand never faded. Many Tesla owners have long called the lack of CarPlay their biggest frustration, and some potential buyers have even reconsidered purchases because of it.

Why the Change Now?

Industry dynamics have shifted:

Apple canceled its EV project (Project Titan) in 2024, reducing competitive friction between the two companies.

Tesla’s sales growth has slowed, prompting the company to rethink long-standing product decisions.

Musk now relies on Apple’s ecosystem, with Apple distributing X and Grok AI services.

A 2024 McKinsey report also found that one in three car buyers consider CarPlay or Android Auto non-negotiable — pressure Tesla can no longer ignore.

When Will CarPlay Arrive in Teslas?

There’s no confirmed release date yet. Bloomberg reports Tesla has discussed launching CarPlay in the coming months, but the company is known for revising or cancelling features even after deep development. An official rollout is far from guaranteed.

If launched, CarPlay will:

appear within a dedicated window inside Tesla’s UI

not control vehicle-specific functions like Full Self-Driving

likely support wireless pairing

be based on the standard CarPlay, not Apple’s new CarPlay Ultra system

Both Tesla and Apple have declined to comment.

And What About Android Users?

Bad news — for now.

Tesla still has no plans to support Android Auto, and there’s no indication that will change soon.