Tidal in Teslas is great, but we need MORE music streaming apps

For those of you who own a Tesla and have been wishing for an alternative to Spotify, we have some good news: Tidal is now supported.

The new in-car app is part of Tesla’s 2021.40 software update, released on Tuesday. 

Here’s the release note:

TIDAL streaming is now available from the Media menu with a TIDAL account. You can listen to TIDAL playlists or albums in high-quality audio by connecting to Wi-Fi and pressing Download on the selected content.

ok, so the TACC chime is for countries outside of China now, I misread the code I guess.

And British English is now official too pic.twitter.com/i5ztuAqKby

— green (@greentheonly) November 2, 2021

For audiophiles Tidal’s integration is a BIG improvement. While the two platforms offer about the same selection of artists, Tidal is simply better in terms of sound quality.

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Spotify’s audio tops at approximately 320kbps, even with the Premium subscription, which basically results in MP3-quality sound.

In contrast, Tidal’s most expensive plans, HiFi and Master, offer lossless audio quality at 1,4111kbps and 9,216kbps, respectively. This means that you get high-res CD quality.

Spotify is also planning to go HiFi, but that hasn’t happened yet.

But to be fair, there’s a lot more than just streaming quality that factors into choosing the right music platform. Music discovery features, pricing, and ease of use (especially while driving) all play a big part. And finally, you might not even be able to tell the difference between normal streaming and lossless audio.

Why stop at Tidal? Give us MORE.

It’s a bit ridiculous that Tesla owners are stuck with only two options for music streaming — especially when we’re used to the wealthy smorgasbord of video streaming services at home, like Netflix, Hulu, Plex, Disney+, and more.

And on top of that, I feel there’s a bigger room for creativity when it comes to creating new methods to serve drivers their favorite beats than with video streaming at home. It’s a completely different experience listening to music on your phone while walking, compared to blasting it in your car stereo — both in terms of operating the platform and its vibe.

Let me suggest here the integration of Amazon Music and Apple Music. They offer high-res audio quality similar to that which is currently offered by Tidal Hi-Fi, and are also cheaper. 

So I’d like to see more services take a crack of making more use of Teslas’ music listening capabilities, starting with Amazon Music and Apple Music.

I feel like they have the in-house capabilities of overhauling the experience, and it doesn’t hurt they both offer high-res audio quality similar to that which is currently offered by Tidal Hi-Fi, just cheaper.

Other features of the software update

But besides the inclusion of Tidal, the new Tesla update introduced some nifty features:

1. Cold weather improvements, such as defrost
2. Active road noise reduction
3. Rear display improvements
4. Traffic-aware cruise control chime, which was previously used only in China
5. The addition of British English as an official language

You can find the summary of the updates here.

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