Tesla is still working on CarPlay support, but here’s why it hasn’t launched yet
Source: 9to5Mac
According to a new report from Bloomberg, Tesla is still working on adding CarPlay integration to its cars, but the automaker has hit “a few hurdles” that require fixes from Apple.
iOS 26 adoption slows Tesla’s CarPlay roadmap
Last November, Bloomberg broke the news that Tesla was working on CarPlay support and that the feature could launch “in the coming months.” Tesla plans to integrate CarPlay as “a window inside its broader interface.”
In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman reports that “Tesla continues to plan to add CarPlay.” The automaker is working alongside Apple to make this launch happen.
The report explains that Tesla discovered several “compatibility hitches” between Apple Maps and its own first‑party mapping platform used for autonomy features. Specifically, the turn‑by‑turn guidance from Tesla’s maps app didn’t properly synchronize with Apple Maps during autonomous driving, which could create a confusing experience for users if both applications were open side by side.
Tesla asked Apple to make engineering changes to improve compatibility between its software and Apple Maps. Apple implemented the adjustments in a bug‑fix update to iOS 26 and the latest version of CarPlay. However, adoption of iOS 26 has been slower than with previous releases, meaning too few users had the updated Maps changes by the end of last year.
As Gurman notes, Apple released the first iOS 26 adoption numbers on Friday, revealing that 74 % of all iPhones released in the last four years are running iOS 26. This doesn’t guarantee that those users have updated to the later iOS 26 version that includes the CarPlay bug fix.
At present, there is no specific launch date for Tesla’s CarPlay support. The automaker appears to be waiting for adoption numbers to rise before deploying the feature.
Nonetheless, today’s report reaffirms that CarPlay is still coming and explains why it’s taking a bit longer than some expected.