Any chance Tesla might support iTunes Radio directly?

[HFh]

So, anyway, I'm reluctantly forced to admit that I prefer iTunes Radio to Slacker (the power of having an order of magnitude more songs to play with, I suppose).

Right now I listen to it using bluetooth streaming; however, it's an inferior experience: 1) No time indicators and 2) no way to like / hate a song from the screen. The first problem is surprisingly annoying (is there no way around this issue?), and the second one is truly bad. In particular, I find myself picking up the phone to indicate song preference (which is more dangerous than poking the screen, I would think). All of this would be solved with the current user interface for Slacker, so the only issue is the backend (clearly, just a small matter of programming).

1% problems, I know, but still: anyone else wish Tesla would make this a reality, or am I the only one?

 

[ZBB]

It would be great if Tesla added in a "iOS in the car" app. Then we'd get just what you are looking for and more...

 

[mknox]

It would be great if the Model S just supported iPod controls on the touch screen when you connect your iPhone. I had a loaner Ford Fusion while mine was in for service and it was great to be able to control songs, albums and playlists directly from the car's touchscreen.

 

[bareyb]

My gut feeling is they don't want to pay Apple licensing fees. That's the only explanation that makes sense, considering how popular Apple devices are. I was shocked they didn't support IOS better than they do.

 

[mknox]

My gut feeling is they don't want to pay Apple licensing fees. That's the only explanation that makes sense, considering how popular Apple devices are. I was shocked they didn't support IOS better than they do.

Probably true, but if so, they're just being stubborn. Every car I've driven since about '08 or '09 has supported iPod controls. Even the cheap after-market Sony head unit I put in my wife's Pontiac Vibe does.

 

[Gizmotoy]

My gut feeling is they don't want to pay Apple licensing fees. That's the only explanation that makes sense, considering how popular Apple devices are. I was shocked they didn't support IOS better than they do.

What strikes me as odd is that they can just pass along the cost to us. I suspect pretty much anyone who wants iPhone USB access would be willing to pay for it. They already have mechanisms in place to handle this sort of software-enabled feature since they do it for Supercharging. So it seems like it's just a low priority.

It would be killer to just plug in the phone, get access to your music, and tether to the phone for data access.

 

[steve841]

Personally... Let's get the factory unit up to par before going big.

Play lists please!

 

[N4HHE]

Tesla just hired an Apple VP so I'd say the odds are getting better.

http://www.teslamotors.com/about/pr...res-apple-vp-doug-field-lead-vehicle-programs

 

[Todd Burch]

Tesla is probably willing to support it. I'm not so sure that Apple would be willing to let Tesla use it in their cars without significant $$.

 

[N4HHE]

Tesla is probably willing to support it. I'm not so sure that Apple would be willing to let Tesla use it in their cars without significant $$.

Why do you think that? iTunes Radio was created out of the goodness of Apple's Capitalistic Heart to boast the sales of iTunes selections. I'd expect Apple to be happy with a Tesla implementation as long as nothing is done to eliminate ads or to remove Apple's links to purchase the current song being played.

I subscribe to iTunes Match and get iTunes Radio commercial free.

I'm more worried about what data service will cost when Tesla drops the free trial.

 

[jamieb]

There is a large push at Apple for iOS in the car. They have been hiring dozens of software engineers over the last few years and shifting folks around internally as well to focus on this project. I would be very surprised if Tesla was not an early adopter of the features that Apple plans, especially since the hardware in the car is robust enough to support it; it might be as simple as a software update. Note that for the new center console option ('coming soon') they designed a built-in dock for the iPhone 5 form factor. Note also that the design is sufficiently wide enough to support the (rumored) larger iPhone 6 series. I take this all as evidence that there are a lot of conversations going on between the two companies. I would not be surprised if there was soon to be a native version of iTunes for the Tesla, it would be great to log in within the car and simply run iTunes radio natively. Could also envision being able to view video downloads from iCloud when the car is not moving.

 

[BryanW]

Now with Wi-Fi enabled on 5.6, I would love to have my car connect through Homesharing to my mac and auto sync my iTunes library and playlists into the car. I guess it would be onto the USB drive. Have we heard anything more about song storage directly in the car?