Tesla’s long-rumoured Apple CarPlay integration appears to be in progress, but technical hurdles and slower-than-expected iOS 26 adoption are reportedly delaying its rollout. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, compatibility issues between Apple Maps and Tesla’s native mapping system have created challenges that both companies are still working to resolve.
Tesla has long been one of the few major automakers to resist adding Apple CarPlay support to its vehicles. While rumours have circulated for years that CarPlay could eventually make its way into Tesla’s infotainment system, the Elon Musk-led company has never officially confirmed a rollout timeline.
Now, according to Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg, Tesla is actively working with Apple to integrate CarPlay into its vehicles. However, several technical and software adoption challenges are slowing progress.
In this week’s Power On newsletter, Gurman claims that:
"Tesla continues to plan to add CarPlay, allowing it to run in a window within the current software interface. There are just a few hurdles that Tesla and Apple need to overcome".
This suggests Tesla is not planning a full-system takeover by CarPlay, but rather a windowed implementation that would coexist with Tesla’s native interface.
During internal testing, Tesla reportedly identified “compatibility hitches” between Apple Maps and Tesla’s in-house navigation system — the latter being deeply integrated with its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) technologies.
According to the report, Tesla’s native maps did not properly sync with Apple Maps during autonomous driving scenarios. If both systems were displayed side by side, discrepancies in routing or real-time data could create confusion for drivers.
To address the issue, Tesla reportedly requested engineering changes from Apple.
Apple responded by introducing adjustments in a later update to iOS 26 and the latest version of Apple CarPlay.
Despite Apple rolling out the required Maps fix, another problem emerged: slower-than-usual iOS adoption rates.
As Gurman noted:
"But here's the catch: Adoption of iOS 26 has been slower than with previous releases. That meant, in Tesla's view, too few users had the updated Maps changes by the end of last year".
Apple recently shared its first official usage figures for iOS 26. According to the company:
iOS 26 is installed on 74 percent of iPhone models released within the past four years
This compares with 76 percent adoption for iOS 18 at a similar point last year
However, Apple has not disclosed how many users are running the specific iOS builds that include the Maps fix required by Tesla. This uncertainty appears to be influencing Tesla’s decision to delay the rollout until adoption rises further.
At this stage, it remains unclear when — or even if — Tesla will officially roll out Apple CarPlay support.
The company reportedly prefers to wait until a larger portion of its user base is running the updated iOS version with the necessary Apple Maps changes. Launching too early could result in inconsistent performance and a fragmented user experience.
Tesla has historically favored maintaining full control over its software ecosystem, which makes this potential collaboration with Apple particularly notable.
While Tesla’s integration remains uncertain, Apple is continuing to evolve the CarPlay platform.
Recent updates include:
Support for third-party voice chatbot applications
Expansion of the premium CarPlay Ultra tier
These additions reflect Apple’s broader strategy to strengthen its in-car ecosystem and compete more aggressively in the automotive software space.
If Tesla ultimately adopts CarPlay, it would mark a significant shift in strategy for the automaker, which has traditionally relied exclusively on its proprietary infotainment system.
A windowed CarPlay implementation could offer Tesla owners access to Apple’s ecosystem while preserving Tesla’s software-first identity. However, synchronization between autonomous navigation and Apple’s mapping system remains the key technical challenge.
For now, the rollout appears to hinge on software adoption rates and cross-platform compatibility improvements.