Ongoing Issues with Spotify Integration in Tesla Infotainment System

[JohnCostanzo]

I reached out to Tesla, Inc.'s Board of Directors to express my ongoing concerns about Spotify integration in the infotainment system. Despite reporting the issue multiple times to both service and support teams, no action has been taken to resolve it. Has anyone had success in getting software issues resolved with Tesla in the past?

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Urgent: Ongoing Issues with Spotify Integration in Tesla Infotainment System

Dear Tesla Board of Directors,

I am writing to bring to your attention an ongoing issue with the Spotify integration within the Tesla infotainment system. Specifically, customers have reported that Spotify frequently will not play podcasts and that updated podcasts, such as hourly news, do not update as they should. This issue has been present for some time and many customers, including myself, have opened multiple service requests about it. The only solution currently is to reboot the console, which in my case has been necessary as frequently as daily.

I am extremely frustrated by this issue and do not feel that it has been made a priority to fix. There are even YouTube videos demonstrating the problem. I would greatly appreciate your help in ensuring that this issue is brought to the attention of the appropriate team and that steps are taken to resolve it.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
Tesla Owner

 

[EVRider-FL]

I don’t think the Board of Directors gets involved with details like this, but how exactly did you reach out to them?

 

[JohnCostanzo]

I don’t think the Board of Directors gets involved with details like this, but how exactly did you reach out to them?

There a link on Tesla's website. You go here then changed the drop down: Contact Us | Tesla Investor Relations

 

[JohnCostanzo]

My hope is my concern will be forward on to the correct team at Tesla. Both Service and Support haven't offered any solution or ETA. The issue has been going on for years and simply using a work around everyday so you can listen to audio in your car is frustrating to say the least.

 

[EVRider-FL]

There are many long-standing issues that have been reported to support over the years, and some of them have never been addressed, so don't get your hopes up. No Board of Directors at any company is going to deal with stuff like this.

The best (and sometimes only) way to get Tesla issues addressed is to get one of Tesla tweeters who Elon follows to tweet about it.

 

[DJ Palmis]

Ehm.. maybe I'm a little bit selfish but.. before podcasts.. User experience about music is a little bit disappointing like I reported many months ago: Re: [TESLA][Playlists] Sort songs in a playlist - Status changed to: Case Closed

As you can see Spotify did not said that they are not in charge of tesla app development.
Just nobody voted my request.
So.. why don't you try to open a ticket there? I'll vote your request (even if I hate podcast on Spotify! )

 

[JohnCostanzo]

I have been successful in getting in touch with company executives by being persistent and polite.

I was informed that Tesla has the source code for their Spotify app and can resolve issues. They are aware of the problem, but do not have a specific time frame for a fix. I also sent a direct message to @tesla on Twitter.

My goal is to ensure that my concern is directed to the appropriate team so that it can be addressed and fixed.

If anyone has any additional suggestions on how to reach Tesla, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[JohnCostanzo]

I am giving up on Spotify. Everyday I have to reboot the console to get it to play. I have been calling Tesla support every two weeks asking for any update. So far, nothing. I am going to start using TuneIn since I mainly listen to Podcasts. I found a code to save some money on a yearly subscription for $50. The code I found and used was msnbc2022. Yearly plan comes with a 30 day trial, which if it works, I will keep. I just wish Tesla would fix their software. It's frustrating to have to constantly reboot the car to play podcasts.

 

[Teedub21]

Spotify worked perfectly in my model 3. Just got my new MYP and am so disappointed in Spotify performance now. Very similar experience to what others here are having. Sometimes it starts up flawlessly then other times It just hangs up. So frustrating.

 

[zoppp]

Ehm.. maybe I'm a little bit selfish but.. before podcasts.. User experience about music is a little bit disappointing like I reported many months ago: Re: [TESLA][Playlists] Sort songs in a playlist - Status changed to: Case Closed

As you can see Spotify did not said that they are not in charge of tesla app development.
Just nobody voted my request.
So.. why don't you try to open a ticket there? I'll vote your request (even if I hate podcast on Spotify! )

Yeah it's silly that I still cannot sort my playlists and set music streaming quality. If I'm paying for premium connectivity, I want full quality music streaming and the ability to sort my songs in a playlist at minimum.

 

[ev_go123]

I'm also having constant issues with Spotify. The play/pause button will just spin endless when trying to play content. I'll try switching to Streaming, which plays perfectly, and then switch back but that rarely fixes it. Album art in Spotify loads, so something is getting back from their servers. I've also tried re-logging with my credentials but that only fixed it that session. This has been ongoing for a number of months, but feels like it's been getting way worse recently.

 

[Teedub21]

I just signed up for Tidal yesterday. Way better sound quality and it functions like it should.

 

[codyfox]

I just signed up for Tidal yesterday. Way better sound quality and it functions like it should.

More expensive but sounds very good!

 

[DRS247]

My hope is my concern will be forward on to the correct team at Tesla. Both Service and Support haven't offered any solution or ETA. The issue has been going on for years and simply using a work around everyday so you can listen to audio in your car is frustrating to say the least.

I feel you man.
I have been having issues with my infotainment since the day I got the car (Nov ‘22). When I am connected to wifi/hotspot, and even though I have accounts setup for Apple Music, Netflix, Disney+ etc (not to mention the free stuff like YouTube that don’t need any account) nothing works. Absolutely nothing. Music doesn’t stream, videos don’t play, nothing works.
I’ve had zillions of exchanges with the customer care but they’re basically useless. Their only answer is that “it’ll be resolved in a future update”. The “future update” that might resolve this could release in 2 weeks or 2 years.
My honest thoughts :
1. This is ridiculous for a car that’s not particularly cheap.
2. If this is the Tesla software experience, Apple CarPlay/Google Auto will destroy Tesla (atleast in terms of software experience) once they really get serious about automotive (which they increasingly are)
3. The superior software experience in a Tesla is a myth. That said, the car drives great and the battery management really is best in class. But the software is nowhere near as good as it’s made out to be.

2 questions :
1. Is there any way I can ask them to take my car back and give my €€ back ? Like I don’t want it. I’d rather get a similarly priced car with Apple CarPlay support and my life will be a lot easier and stress free. For long distance travel, there are many apps that’ll do the job here in EU.

2. If 1 is not possible, is there a way to atleast have my car exchanged with one that has a functioning infotainment ? Same model. Same options. Similar mileage. Just with a damn infotainment that works as it should.

So far, the TM3 ownership has not been joyful. It’s not been seamless. And that’s not why I bought a Tesla.

Last thing, I am not on Twitter and have little knowledge of all that it’s capable of .. but is it possible to do a poll around this issue and send the results to Musk on there ? I’m sure we’re not the only ones suffering like this.

 

[DRS247]

I feel you man.
I have been having issues with my infotainment since the day I got the car (Nov ‘22). When I am connected to wifi/hotspot, and even though I have accounts setup for Apple Music, Netflix, Disney+ etc (not to mention the free stuff like YouTube that don’t need any account) nothing works. Absolutely nothing. Music doesn’t stream, videos don’t play, nothing works.
I’ve had zillions of exchanges with the customer care but they’re basically useless. Their only answer is that “it’ll be resolved in a future update”. The “future update” that might resolve this could release in 2 weeks or 2 years.
My honest thoughts :
1. This is ridiculous for a car that’s not particularly cheap.
2. If this is the Tesla software experience, Apple CarPlay/Google Auto will destroy Tesla (atleast in terms of software experience) once they really get serious about automotive (which they increasingly are)
3. The superior software experience in a Tesla is a myth. That said, the car drives great and the battery management really is best in class. But the software is nowhere near as good as it’s made out to be.

2 questions :
1. Is there any way I can ask them to take my car back and give my €€ back ? Like I don’t want it. I’d rather get a similarly priced car with Apple CarPlay support and my life will be a lot easier and stress free. For long distance travel, there are many apps that’ll do the job here in EU.

2. If 1 is not possible, is there a way to atleast have my car exchanged with one that has a functioning infotainment ? Same model. Same options. Similar mileage. Just with a damn infotainment that works as it should.

So far, the TM3 ownership has not been joyful. It’s not been seamless. And that’s not why I bought a Tesla.

Last thing, I am not on Twitter and have little knowledge of all that it’s capable of .. but is it possible to do a poll around this issue and send the results to Musk on there ? I’m sure we’re not the only ones suffering like this.

 

[ev_go123]

I feel you man.
I have been having issues with my infotainment since the day I got the car (Nov ‘22). When I am connected to wifi/hotspot, and even though I have accounts setup for Apple Music, Netflix, Disney+ etc (not to mention the free stuff like YouTube that don’t need any account) nothing works. Absolutely nothing. Music doesn’t stream, videos don’t play, nothing works.
I’ve had zillions of exchanges with the customer care but they’re basically useless. Their only answer is that “it’ll be resolved in a future update”. The “future update” that might resolve this could release in 2 weeks or 2 years.
My honest thoughts :
1. This is ridiculous for a car that’s not particularly cheap.
2. If this is the Tesla software experience, Apple CarPlay/Google Auto will destroy Tesla (atleast in terms of software experience) once they really get serious about automotive (which they increasingly are)
3. The superior software experience in a Tesla is a myth. That said, the car drives great and the battery management really is best in class. But the software is nowhere near as good as it’s made out to be.

2 questions :
1. Is there any way I can ask them to take my car back and give my €€ back ? Like I don’t want it. I’d rather get a similarly priced car with Apple CarPlay support and my life will be a lot easier and stress free. For long distance travel, there are many apps that’ll do the job here in EU.

2. If 1 is not possible, is there a way to atleast have my car exchanged with one that has a functioning infotainment ? Same model. Same options. Similar mileage. Just with a damn infotainment that works as it should.

So far, the TM3 ownership has not been joyful. It’s not been seamless. And that’s not why I bought a Tesla.

Last thing, I am not on Twitter and have little knowledge of all that it’s capable of .. but is it possible to do a poll around this issue and send the results to Musk on there ? I’m sure we’re not the only ones suffering like this.

I'm sorry to hear you're having these issues, but you're describing a different problem than the one in this thread. I only have issues with Spotify. Streaming music, Netflix, youtube, etc work perfectly fine for me.

That being said, I suppose I can't resist helping. Do you have these issues on 4G (mobile) or only on wifi? When it's not working, does the web browser work or any app load (tidal, streaming music, etc) or is it getting no internet connection at all? What does the screen show when it doesn't work? Have you tested other wifi sources besides your phone's hotspot (public wifi etc)?

 

[DRS247]

I'm sorry to hear you're having these issues, but you're describing a different problem than the one in this thread. I only have issues with Spotify. Streaming music, Netflix, youtube, etc work perfectly fine for me.

That being said, I suppose I can't resist helping. Do you have these issues on 4G (mobile) or only on wifi? When it's not working, does the web browser work or any app load (tidal, streaming music, etc) or is it getting no internet connection at all? What does the screen show when it doesn't work? Have you tested other wifi sources besides your phone's hotspot (public wifi etc)?

I’ve this issue on wifi and mobile hotspot (which basically creates a wifi network). All infotainment apps load (except Netflix)and I can browse around them but when I play a track or a video nothing happens.
web browser is probably the only thing that works as it should over wifi/hotspot.
Yes, I’ve tried other wifi sources. My hotspot, other people‘s hotspot etc.. it’s always the same. Doesn’t work.

I literally just joined twitter to bring this to Musk’s attention. If you and others wanna help please like/retweet. Thanks !

https://twitter.com/x/status/1650965133911261185

 

[ev_go123]

The web browser probably works? You should test it. It either does or it doesn't. If you don't rigorously test this stuff out, I can't help you.

One theory would be the wifi antenna/cabling is bad, however if you say you the web browser works on wifi, that theory wouldn't make sense. Also if the car can get updates over wifi, that theory wouldn't fly.

The other theory is the wifi hotspot doesn't want to serve streaming content due to data restrictions (maybe it blocks streaming data), but if you have tried other wifi that seems less likely.

I assume you don't pay for premium data? Otherwise you'd just be using that? Maybe something weird is going on if you're not subscribed to that. It should let you connect to wifi and stream, but maybe not.

There's literally no way musk will get back to you on twitter. That's a fools errand.

 

[DRS247]

The web browser probably works? You should test it. It either does or it doesn't. If you don't rigorously test this stuff out, I can't help you.

One theory would be the wifi antenna/cabling is bad, however if you say you the web browser works on wifi, that theory wouldn't make sense. Also if the car can get updates over wifi, that theory wouldn't fly.

The other theory is the wifi hotspot doesn't want to serve streaming content due to data restrictions (maybe it blocks streaming data), but if you have tried other wifi that seems less likely.

I assume you don't pay for premium data? Otherwise you'd just be using that? Maybe something weird is going on if you're not subscribed to that. It should let you connect to wifi and stream, but maybe not.

There's literally no way musk will get back to you on twitter. That's a fools errand.

“Probably the only thing” was a figure of speech. Yes. Web browser 100% works over wifi. Have tested it numerous times.
I also update my car over wifi/hotspot. So there are no issues with the antenna or anything.

No, all wifi networks/hotspots that I have tried have no such restrictions. These kind of restrictions seem to be a very American thing, we don’t have them in EU.

No. I am not subscribed to the Tesla premium connection. I’ve had accounts with all those apps (Apple Music, Disney+ etc) long before I got the car and those are the accounts with which I am connected in my car. Something weird is definitely going on cause it absolutely should let me connect and use them via wifi/hotspot.

If he doesn’t reply, he doesn’t reply. Atleast I’d have tried. That said, I have often seen him get back to user requests/complaints. Maybe it’ll work.

 

[jjrandorin]

“Probably the only thing” was a figure of speech. Yes. Web browser 100% works over wifi. Have tested it numerous times.
I also update my car over wifi/hotspot. So there are no issues with the antenna or anything.

No, all wifi networks/hotspots that I have tried have no such restrictions. These kind of restrictions seem to be a very American thing, we don’t have them in EU.

No. I am not subscribed to the Tesla premium connection. I’ve had accounts with all those apps (Apple Music, Disney+ etc) long before I got the car and those are the accounts with which I am connected in my car. Something weird is definitely going on cause it absolutely should let me connect and use them via wifi/hotspot.

If he doesn’t reply, he doesn’t reply. Atleast I’d have tried. That said, I have often seen him get back to user requests/complaints. Maybe it’ll work.

I still havent seen anything that says that these services work over standard connectivity with a hotspot, even though I have seen you say its supposed to work in another thread.

Have you considered subscribing to premium connectivity for 1 month just to try the services and see if they work that way? I am betting they will, which wont make you happy but at least you can stop chasing a solution that is probably not coming, if it does work, and then make other decisions (like sell the car, possibly pursue Tesla regarding confusing media claims, etc).