Tesla electric cars may offer some of the most advanced car features, but there is one missing feature that sticks out for many customers: the integration of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Now, if you’re ready to get a little nerdy, Polish developer Michal Gapinski has developed a way to activate smartphone integration for Tesla owners through a smart hack.
The latest update to his “Tesla Android Project” brings the Apple CarPlay experience to more Tesla cars than ever before.
After first coming out live with the alpha version in April 2022, the current update 2022.25.1 is only the second version. It uses a Raspberry Pi combined with an LTE modem, Geekworm video capture, Wi-Fi access point, microHDMI to HDMI cable and Ethernet cable to allow connection to the car.
Posting on Twitter about the latest version, Gapinski said: “This is a huge edition with many (new) features and bug fixes that allow 100% functional integration of CarPlay for any Tesla!”
He was unaware of which Tesla cars the software update expanded the project with, but it is clear from the project’s Twitter account that some Model S and Model X owners have successfully followed instructions on his website to get it working. It now seems that the owners of the Model 3 and Model Y can also get involved in the action.
Release notes for the new update include improved audio playback, load time, error handling, display refresh rate, orientation lock so that apps open in landscape mode, and proper CarPlay display resolution.
The hack has also been updated to Android 12.1 for improved stability and performance.
If you want to try it yourself, you can check out the Tesla Android Project website here.
Bridy Schmid is an associate editor of The Driven, a sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018 and is interested in the role that zero-emission transport should play for sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Mark Fenel and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is a co-organizer of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model 3 and offers it for rent on evee.com.au.
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