The Tesla Model 3 Strangely Lacks Some Basic Features, Like AM/FM Radio, Bluetooth Streaming, And Web Access
The Tesla Model 3 is not a car that scrimps on impressive features. Designed to be fully autonomous in the near future, the vehicle is one of the most technologically advanced cars on the road. As the deliveries of the EV’s production model begin, however, some Model 3 owners have discovered that some otherwise basic features are missing from their cars — features like AM/FM radio, web browsing, and Bluetooth music streaming.
Over the past couple of months, the only Model 3 units that were delivered were the ones purchased by employees of CEO Elon Musk’s family of companies, such as Tesla and SpaceX. Recently, however, Model 3 units started making their way to customers who were not employed by Musk at all. Thus, the real feedback on the vehicle’s features began to pour in.
As noted by the EV’s owners in the Model 3 Owners Club Forum, there are a number of features that are missing from the mass-market Tesla. Some of these features are strangely basic, and are found even on 10-year-old entry-level vehicles on the A-Class segment.
Among these absent features is the capability to receive FM radio signals. This means that unlike other vehicles on the road, the Tesla Model 3 would not be able to access local radio stations. Music in the car is currently limited to Slacker Radio, a Spotify-like service with a significantly smaller music library, according to a report from The Drive.
Interestingly, Slacker Radio is completely dependent on the cellular reception available. Thus, Model 3 owners traveling in remote areas might find themselves cruising on a silent vehicle.
The capability to access AM radio stations is also absent on the Model 3, which is almost unsurprising but still quite disappointing for many fans of the electric car. After all, AM radio stations are usually the first to broadcast local weather warnings. Apart from this, AM frequencies are completely independent of the internet, rendering the lack of cellular reception in an area a non-issue.
Another feature that is still unavailable to the Model 3, at least in its current iteration, is the capability to stream music through Bluetooth. This feature, which some of the cheapest cars on the market like the Kia Picanto and the Suzuki Swift are equipped with, is also absent on the Model 3. Bluetooth functionalities are still available, however, though only for receiving and making calls inside the vehicle.
One particularly strange feature that is unavailable to the current version of the Model 3 is the ability to browse the internet, according to an Ars Technica report. For a vehicle that relies on cellular signals to play music, many Model 3 owners found it quite surprising to see that the mass-market EV was unable to access the web on its own.
These lack of features, save for the FM/AM radio capabilities, are centered on the car’s software, not on its hardware. Fortunately, Tesla is known for being a carmaker that improves its vehicles’ software over time. Thus, in the near future, these missing features from the Model 3 might very well be available.
[Featured Image by Tesla]
