Android Auto cars are available from a breadth of manufacturers, including General Motors, Ford, and Toyota, but one manufacturer notably doesn’t support it — Tesla. Instead, the company uses a proprietary Linux-based operating system. But there are ways to use Android Auto in your Tesla if you really want to. TeslAA, which we’ve reported on a couple of months ago, basically lets you use Android Auto through your Tesla’s browser. It’s far from a perfect solution, and it comes with its own set of flaws, but it does work. Now, it’s finally out of beta.
This tool comes from Emil Borconi, who also makes AAWireless, and it’s fairly straightforward to use. Install the app on your phone, pair it with your car via Bluetooth, connect the Tesla Wi-Fi to your device’s hotspot, then use the Tesla browser to go to www.androidwheels.com. The Android Auto interface is streamed to your car’s dashboard via Wi-Fi, and it functions pretty well as long as you remember that this is just a video feed of an Android Auto interface. It works for Google Maps and Waze navigation as well as all the usual things you would use an Android Auto dashboard for.
The original coverage by the folks at XDA mentions a few issues. Particularly, the stream may become unresponsive after switching to reverse, and when your phone loses service for a long period, the car may disconnect from the Wi-Fi hotspot. Even so, the current implementation should be good enough to enable your AA apps on your Tesla.
If you’re a Tesla owner, this is worth a try. It’s not the same thing as a proper Android Auto head unit, but it’s as close as you’re gonna get while bowing down to your supreme leader Elon Musk.
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