It's easy to make an older car feel new by adding a few gadgets or accessories, but it's not quite that simple when you drive a Tesla. That said, you can now get Apple's CarPlay or Android Auto in Tesla vehicles with this neat Raspberry Pi hack.
On Twitter, a developer named Michał Gapiński has an entire project where he's hacking Raspberry Pi devices to run both automotive operating systems inside Tesla cars. And while he's been working on it for months, the first beta got released this week, and anyone willing to try it can do so.
The process certainly isn't easy and requires users to get a few Raspberry Pi devices running Android to trick the system. You'll need a Pi device with 4G LTE and a Wi-Fi access point, flash it to run Android and a few other things. Once the vehicle thinks it's connected to an Android tablet, the infotainment display can show Android Auto or CarPlay. More information is available from this YouTube video.
Once you get everything ready, users can connect the in-car browser to the Raspberry Pi and display Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, whichever one you prefer. It's not a full-screen experience, but it's close enough.
It looks like almost all the essential stuff works, too, including Apple Maps, Apple Music, Google Maps, and more. You can even control most functions with Tesla's built-in steering wheel controls.
Gapinski launched a website full of additional details, hardware requirements, and even an installation guide for those interested. Additionally, you can follow the @TeslaAndroid Twitter account for more information.
Tesla still doesn't officially support Apple CarPlay, and it never delivered on its promise to allow Apple Music, so this might be the only option for now.
via MacRumors