Apple CarPlay is one of the best in-car operating systems on the market, and thanks to the hard work of one developer, they just found a way to add it to their Tesla. More so than almost any car on the market, Teslas are extremely smart. They have numerous driving assistance features, fast/responsive touchscreen interfaces, and integration with services like Spotify and Netflix. If there's ever been a car brand that embraced modern apps and technology, it's Tesla.
However, that's not to say the company is perfect at this stuff. As feature-rich as Tesla's own interface is, it offers little room for flexibility outside of its strict rules. There's no support for Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and integrated music services are limited to just Spotify and Tidal. It's a setup that can get really annoying for some users — especially considering how much better CarPlay and Android Auto are at certain tasks.
While most Tesla owners air these complaints online and do nothing more about it, one of them decided enough was enough. As spotted by Tesla North, Polish developer Michał Gapiński recently found a way to get CarPlay running directly on their Tesla's touchscreen. Gapiński posted pictures of the CarPlay interface, all of the default Apple apps, and even Apple Maps running like normal — all of it running in their Tesla.
How Apple CarPlay Was Added To A Tesla
As impressive as the project is, it's not something most Tesla owners will be up for. To get CarPlay working, Gapiński had to get a Raspberry Pi with an LTE and Wi-Fi support. That Raspberry Pi was loaded with a custom build of Android mimicking Apple's CarPlay interface, which was then accessed remotely via the Tesla's built-in web browser. Gapiński is still tweaking things like Wi-Fi performance, but they eventually plan on releasing their work to the public for anyone else to try for themselves.
While this is unlikely to convince Tesla to add official CarPlay support to its cars, it is an exciting glimpse of what could be. Tesla's custom OS is great, but allowing folks to also choose between CarPlay or Android Auto would make things substantially better. It'd be more user-friendly, potentially easier for people to use, and could fill in missing feature gaps currently present in Tesla's software. Unfortunately, that's all just wishful thinking. Gapiński's CarPlay workaround isn't ideal, but it's the best attempt we've seen yet of adding CarPlay to a Tesla. And as a one-person side project, it's pretty darn impressive.
Source: Michał Gapiński, Tesla North