Tesla Model S
Playing Music from a USB Drive in the Tesla Model S
The Tesla Model S offers 2 USB ports under the center armrest, both capable of playing music directly from a USB drive.
The USB music interface on the Model S is well is designed. You can swipe between levels of organization (i.e. Genre->Country->Artist), album art is automatically downloaded, and the buttons and controls are presented in an intuitive and clean manner. A high speed scroll function gives you the ability to scroll through long lists very quickly.
Both ports work for playing music directly from a USB thumb drive but it’s important to note that the port closest to the driver provides twice the current than the port closer to the passenger (2.1A for the driver’s side and 1A for the passenger side). Use the port towards the passenger side for USB music and leave the port closest to the driver for charging USB devices.
Also see: The Sound in the Tesla Model S
The sound system will index the music from your USB device (I use a SanDisk Cruzer Fit 64GB) and categorize them into the following buckets:
- Songs (all songs, alphabetically)
- Genres
- Artists
- Albums
- By Folder (folder on the USB drive)
The categorization makes searching for music much quicker especially since the interface does not provide a search function. The ability to favorite a set of songs for quick access also exists.
Tesla supports a broad range of music formats from the more common MP3, MP4 and AAC (without DRM), as well as formats such as FLAC, AIFF, WAV, WMA and lossless WMA. The sound system will attempt to play these formats and download its album art whenever possible.
There are a lot of really nice touches on the Tesla Model S sound system interface and in many ways it is nicer looking than other USB interface I’ve seen in a car.
The Negative
Ok, so I’m a Tesla owner, not a fan-boy nor an employee so I’m going to start with a bold statement and then explain my position.
Tesla’s USB music interface is useless.
Doing the Shuffle
Let’s start with the big one: You can’t shuffle. Thats it, no shuffling, no random play order of songs, albums, folders, anything. Apple believes so much in shuffling that they made a product that only did that. Without a shuffle, the USB music feature is quite useless in the real world.
Songs are arranged alphabetically which can be annoying depending on how you loaded your music. Playing music from the Album view will also play each song in alphabetical order.
Folder Foul Up
The folder function was clearly an afterthought in my opinion. Album art appears for each song but when you find that same song through the folder view, no album art appears.
Take my “Cowboy Casanova” song for example:
The fast scroll option also doesn’t exist in this folder view.
And the rest
There are some other oddities that I noticed in the interface. There’s 2 USB ports to play music through, “USB1” and “USB2” as displayed on the touchscreen.
What’s odd is that the name is based on the order in which you insert the 2 devices and not on the location of the USB port. Essentially “USB1” can represent the driver’s side USB port if you happen to plug the device into that slot first. However it can also be presented with the same name if you plug it into the passengers’s side USB port first.
That’s just silly.
I have favorite artists, albums, playlists (folders), genres etc. Why can’t I favorite anything but a song? I want to go back and (randomly!) play my favorite playlist over and over, not just a song.
USB devices are designed to be inserted and removed whenever you want. Start playing USB music on the Model S and then remove the USB stick. It will attempt to play the songs next in line and fail without being able to detect that the USB device has already been removed.
Conclusion
This morning’s reports of a Tesla Cybertruck recall only went to shed more light on how the production ramp of the pickup is going.
With delivery figures for the third quarter revealed yesterday, it also shows a grim reality for the Model S and Model X, two vehicles that have become more of a novelty in Tesla’s lineup as the Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck have truly taken charge.
The NHTSA documents released this morning show the Cybertruck is being recalled for a delayed rearview image, which will be resolved with an Over-the-Air update.
Tesla addresses Cybertruck rearview camera “recall” with free software update
However, they also show that 27,185 units are potentially impacted by the issue, giving us a rough guess of how many Cybertrucks have been produced thus far.
The breakdown seems to show that from the last Cybertruck recall in June, when 11,688 units were potentially impacted, we have seen roughly 15,497 additional pickups make their way to customers.
In a perfect world, that would mean 910 Cybertruck are delivered every week, or 130 per day, and since the first recall occurred with three weeks left in June and in Q2, we can subtract 2,730 Cybertrucks from the 15,497 that have been delivered since then.
We know that as of now there are 27,185 Cybertrucks delivered, and as of June 6, there were 11,688 Cybertrucks delivered.
That means 15,497 were delivered between June 6 and today (maybe yesterday?), which is about 910 per week or 130 per day.
EDIT: since this recall includes…
— ⚙️ Mike, cyberowners.com (@TeslaTruckClub) October 3, 2024
These figures are very rough estimates. That would leave 13,157 Cybertrucks delivered in Q3, roughly.
Tesla said 22,915 Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck were delivered in Q3. This would leave just 9,758 Model S and Model X to be delivered, less than 10,000 units for an entire quarter, if the Cybertruck delivery figures are close to accurate.
“We’re Continuing to Make Them for Sentimental Reasons”
Elon Musk said during the Q3 2019 Earnings Call that the Model S and Model X are truly vehicles that are “niche products,” and they knew it wouldn’t take the company to a mass-market status:
“I mean, they’re very expensive, made in low volume. To be totally frank, we’re continuing to make them more for sentimental reasons than anything else. They’re really of minor importance to the future.”
Tesla’s Q1 ’21 Deliveries prove Elon Musk was right about the Model S and X in 2019
Interestingly, the vehicles have had their moments through the past few years. In Q4 2023, the Model S and Model X saw their highest delivery count in five years, accounting for 22,969 deliveries that quarter.
Now, they’re around the 10,000 mark.
It will be interesting to see what Tesla’s plans are for these two cars, especially as Robotaxi unveiling is scheduled for next week, and there could be the potential for more vehicles to be released in the coming years with the next-gen platform taking focus.
It would be a real gut punch to the long-time Tesla fans who saw the Model S and Model X launch the company into the Model 3. But all good things must come to an end.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
Tesla has launched a 3-year subscription bundle for the Model S and Model X. The $5,000 bundle includes access to Full Self Driving (FSD) (Supervised), free Supercharging, and Premium Connectivity.
Tesla’s official website shows that the 3-year subscription bundle is only available for the Model S and Model X for now. Model 3 and Model Y orders are only allowed to purchase FSD for its full 8,000 price. This is understandable as Tesla is likely testing the waters for the 3-year subscription bundle.
So let's break this down for Model X and S owners:
— Ale𝕏andra Merz 🇺🇲 (@TeslaBoomerMama) August 9, 2024
Monthly subscription
– to FSD $99
– to Premium Connectivity $9.99
then add $30 of free supercharging per month
and after three years, it adds up to … 🥁 … $5,000 https://t.co/UleF6mIrIo
The 3-year FSD (Supervised), free Supercharging, and Premium Connectivity bundle have mostly received support from the electric vehicle community, some of whom noted that the service would probably be popular among those who lease their cars for three years. It should be noted, however, that vehicles that are for commercial use are not eligible for the 3-year bundle.
The price of the 3-year bundle is quite reasonable considering the individual prices of the services that are included. Full Self Driving’s monthly subscription costs $99, so three years of the service would be worth $3,564. Premium Connectivity, at $10 a month, would cost $360 over three years. Free Supercharging could not be purchased individually, but a reasonable value for the service could be around $30 a month or $1,080 over three years. Together, the three services amount to $5,004 over a three-year period.
Tesla Bundle subscription agreement pic.twitter.com/01Z4QHDI9O
— Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) August 9, 2024
Tesla’s 3-year bundle has the makings of a popular service, but the fact that it is currently limited to the Model S and Model X means that only a small group of customers would be able to take advantage of the offer. As per Tesla’s Q2 vehicle delivery and production report, Tesla only delivered a total of 21,551 non-Model 3/Y vehicles in the second quarter. From that number, Cox Automotive estimated that 8,755 were Tesla Cybertrucks. This means that just over 12,700 Model S and Model X were sold in the second quarter.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
Tesla has started shipping the Model S Plaid flagship sedan with newly-redesigned Sport seats.
The Model S Plaid has been available for customers for a few years now, and while it is a mainstay in Tesla’s lineup, its look and feel are not quite old or outdated enough to justify a complete redesign.
However, Tesla has a knack for updating certain things within the vehicle, especially interior options, including steering wheels or a simplified interior altogether, as it did with the Model 3 “Highland.”
It has done this with the Model S Plaid, the premier version of its flagship sedan.
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- Credit: Tesla
After leaked images of a newly designed Model S Plaid seat appeared last October, it was clear that Tesla had some plans to update the seats for a new look and advantages that would fit the high-performance EV.
Tesla has brought some new features with these Sport Seats:
- Track-inspired bolstering that provides lateral support
- Suede bolsters for increased grip, exclusive Plaid composite design in the backrest
- Same comfort and 12-way power adjust, heating, and ventilation as original Model S Plaid seats
For what it is worth, the seats appear to be similar to the ones that leaked in the images in October.
However, the leaked images showed some minor quality issues with loose paneling, so we’re hopeful they have refined this with the units it will ship:
Credit: u/s3pirion on r/TeslaMotors
Tesla launched the new Sport Seats in the Plaid Model S in both the North American and Chinese markets this evening. All Model S Plaid vehicles built from April 1, 2024, and beyond will now come standard with these seats, so there is no additional upcharge for them.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
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