YouTube and Netflix Coming to Tesla Cars

We don’t usually write about cars, but here is an interesting one: Elon Musk today announced that his company Tesla is bringing YouTube and Netflix streaming to their cars.

The support for YouTube and Netflix will allow users to watch content from YouTube and all the shows and movies from Netflix on their car. And that’s obviously really great if you have a Tesla. Musk said on Twitter that the viewing experience is “amazingly immersive” and provides a “cinematic feel due to comfy seats & surround sound audio.”

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You will only be able to stream YouTube and Netflix when the car is stopped, of course. After all, it’s very easy to get distracted by a 2 minute YouTube video. There is, however, a chance of YouTube nad Netflix streaming working when your car is moving.

Musk says the company is working on enabling video streaming while the car is moving once its full self-driving system is approved by regulators. That would actually be pretty wild, especially being able to just watch a show on Netflix or a video on YouTube while your car just drives itself.

Elon Musk later confirmed that the feature will land on Teslas sometime in August, but it could take slightly longer. That’s the same time its cars are getting Cuphead, too, by the way.

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Conversation 32 comments

  • bob_shutts

    27 July, 2019 - 6:52 pm

    <p>Hope that’s locked down so some smart person can’t hack it so he/she can watch Stranger Things on I-95. </p>

    • vadalus

      29 July, 2019 - 2:46 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#445546">In reply to Bob_Shutts:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Some smart person who could buy an iPad and do it right now if they really wanted… </p>

  • skane2600

    27 July, 2019 - 7:38 pm

    <p>Musk: We've got the driver entertainment system working so all that is left to go is the trivial task of creating a self-driving system that doesn't crash.</p>

  • SvenJ

    27 July, 2019 - 7:57 pm

    <p>I can already do this in my Ford Focus. It's called an iPad. Immersive sound? Headphones. I can do Hulu and Amazon Prime videos, not to mention iTunes. </p>

    • Skolvikings

      29 July, 2019 - 2:02 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#445561">In reply to SvenJ:</a></em></blockquote><p>Can you stream the content for $99/year too like Tesla owners can?</p>

      • lvthunder

        Premium Member
        29 July, 2019 - 2:45 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#445829">In reply to Skolvikings:</a></em></blockquote><p>That's not going to last though.</p>

  • harmjr

    Premium Member
    27 July, 2019 - 11:54 pm

    <p>Tesla just wants to repair those huge touch screens. (Tesla repair man) Sir how did the touch screen get broken…. Frozen was on repeat… </p>

  • AnOldAmigaUser

    Premium Member
    28 July, 2019 - 12:48 am

    <p>How attention deficit have we become that we need to be distracted and mindlessly entertained at traffic lights? What could possibly go wrong with this?</p><p>Driving is an activity that requires one's full attention to be done right, even with the aids in today's autos. If a person cannot be bothered to pay attention when driving, they should take mass transit.</p>

    • wosully

      Premium Member
      28 July, 2019 - 9:48 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#445592">In reply to AnOldAmigaUser:</a></em></blockquote><p>You are right in with this. Maybe we could implement this with the airlines…..pilots have lots of down time in the air. </p>

    • xapache

      28 July, 2019 - 10:49 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#445592">In reply to AnOldAmigaUser:</a></em></blockquote><p>Maybe you didn't fully understand (or you were distracted ("it’s very easy to get distracted by a 2 minute YouTube video.") what was announced. It is a feature that will allow drivers to watch while sitting at a SuperCharger station charging their car – NOT – at a traffic light waiting for the light to change.</p><p><br></p><p>Then, it was announced that once full self-driving (FSD) was approved and launched in car video while the vehicle is moving would be enabled. Which makes sense, if the car is driving autonomously then the passenger(s) could read, make phone calls, or watch videos on the way to the destination.</p>

      • Greg Green

        30 July, 2019 - 7:41 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#445635">In reply to xapache:</a></em></blockquote><p>Is there a formal announcement? Musk’s tweet says when the car is stopped, not when the car is charging. So that would include traffic lights, stop signs, traffic jams, toll gates, etc.</p>

  • mattbg

    Premium Member
    28 July, 2019 - 7:52 am

    <p>This seems a bit "low fat" in the canon of Tesla promises. Why not show the movie on the windshield? :)</p>

    • SvenJ

      28 July, 2019 - 10:39 am

      <blockquote><a href="#445614"><em>In reply to mattbg:</em></a><em> </em>Every driveway a drive-in.</blockquote><p><br></p>

  • Stooks

    28 July, 2019 - 10:58 am

    <p>Tesla needs to fail already. Massively in debt, major quality control problems, shady tax deals, never hitting any timelines, over promising and under delivering and executives bailing. All run by a megalomaniac. Please just fail. </p>

    • PeteB

      28 July, 2019 - 11:03 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#445637">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p>Aww what's a matter, can't afford a Tesla</p>

      • Thom77

        28 July, 2019 - 12:25 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#445638">In reply to PeteB:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Tesla can't afford it's own existence.</p><p><br></p><p>They are subsidized by tax payer money.</p>

        • xapache

          28 July, 2019 - 1:00 pm

          <blockquote><em><a href="#445642">In reply to Thom77:</a></em></blockquote><p>"They are subsidized by tax payer money." Are they?</p><p><br></p><p>This is such a tired falsehood that seems to never die. If you are referring to the <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, Tesla paid the loan off (+ interest) several years before the deadline. BTW Ford, Nissan, Fisker, and others all received the loan as well. That doesn't seem to come up in conversation though. Or how about oil companies that are CURRENTLY subsidized by tax payer money? They make billions in profit and yet are in need of public tax payer money? Seems odd to me…</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Or maybe you are referring to the federal EV tax credit? This credit only applies to the first 200k EV cars produced by a manufacturer. Well, Tesla has hit that mark and is in the phase out of the tax credit which goes to the purchaser of the vehicle not Tesla (minus of course the sale resulting).</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Polarizing as Elon Musk is, the cars the company produces all achieve the highest crash ratings of every single body that tests them. So the quality issue really isn't actually an issue. Yes, Model 3 early production cars had panel gaps and such but are sound cars otherwise.</span></p><p><br></p><p>For all the tech in these cars and the theme of this tech website, one would think there would be more interest here rather than the nonsense that is reported in the news.</p>

          • Stooks

            29 July, 2019 - 12:57 am

            <blockquote><em><a href="#445643">In reply to xapache:</a></em></blockquote><p>The EV tax credit ran out for them in 2018. They would have went under but California through them a lifeline….yet again.</p><p><br></p><p>Go to the Tesla forums and look at the quality issues. You have lots and lots of software glitches plus manufacturing issues because they do not have the track record as a auto maker. Lots of odd issues like how the wheel wells are not one piece (like 6+) and are cracking on the welds, or how the rear end of the Model 3 collects dirt, 40+ pounds of it over time. There are stories about people that get in minor accidents that wait 7 months for spare parts to get the car fixed at a body shop.</p><p><br></p><p>How many people have now died because of the auto pilot mode or from fires after a wreck? Just recently someone crashed and the door would not open and they burned up.</p>

        • codymesh

          28 July, 2019 - 5:07 pm

          <blockquote><em><a href="#445642">In reply to Thom77:</a></em></blockquote><p>as opposed to GM, which totally isn't subsidized by taxpayer money /s</p>

        • pargon

          Premium Member
          28 July, 2019 - 5:34 pm

          <blockquote><em><a href="#445642">In reply to Thom77:</a></em></blockquote><p>That's actually not true in proper context. They were the first to repay their loans from the Feds. Paid far ahead of schedule with all interest. Oil companies are more heavily subsidized than Electric. Most industries are "subsidized by the tax payer money"….farming, oil &amp; gas, nuclear power (I'm a nuclear engineer, it's not economical without heavy govt funds to get started). GM took a massive bailout and the Taxpayer lost BILLIONS! Why are so many idiots so quick to forget that but shout down Tesla for actually improving lives, safety, features. </p><p><br></p><p>People get kidnapped at gas stations while filling up these days. As soon as I can afford an electric car that can be charged at home daily I plan to do so. The safety benefits of a low center of gravity and not needing to put my wife and child in a crappy situation are worth a lot. I normally fill her car up for her so she doesn't have to worry about the theft and crime at stations. Living near the Mexico border in NM, it's definitely on the news pretty often.</p>

          • pargon

            Premium Member
            28 July, 2019 - 5:37 pm

            <blockquote><em><a href="#445673">In reply to Pargon:</a></em></blockquote><p><a href="https://www.governing.com/topics/finance/gov-companies-receiving-largest-federal-subsidies.html&quot; target="_blank">https://www.governing.com/topics/finance/gov-companies-receiving-largest-federal-subsidies.html</a></p><p><br></p><p>Weird. Tesla isn't on this page….but GM is. Go figure. </p>

          • Stooks

            29 July, 2019 - 1:01 am

            <blockquote><em><a href="#445673">In reply to Pargon:</a></em></blockquote><p>"People get kidnapped at gas stations while filling up these days."</p><p><br></p><p>Yeah huge problem, I see in the news all the time??? People get into trouble like that because they do stupid things at stupid places and stupid times. Like do go to a gas station in a bad part of town at 2am.</p><p><br></p><p>What happens when you have to drive say 600 miles away and have to wait at a charging station for way, way, way longer than it would take to fill up a tank of gas?</p>

          • lvthunder

            Premium Member
            29 July, 2019 - 2:54 pm

            <blockquote><em><a href="#445673">In reply to Pargon:</a></em></blockquote><p>Improving people's lives. Really. How does an electric car improve anyone's life?</p><p><br></p><p>I live in Las Vegas and I haven't heard of anyone getting kidnapped at a gas station. That sounds like an issue for your local police and government. President Trump is trying to stop the flow of illegals on the border, but is being stopped by congress and the courts.</p>

    • xapache

      28 July, 2019 - 1:07 pm

      <p>Tesla needs to fail already. Massively in debt, major quality control problems, shady tax deals, never hitting any timelines, over promising and under delivering and executives bailing. All run by a megalomaniac. Please just fail. </p><p>————–</p><p>Can you be more specific in these areas?</p><p><br></p><ul><li>major quality control problems</li><li>shady tax deals</li><li>never hitting any timelines <strong>Yeah OK – one point for you – Elon's timelines are an order of magnitude off most of the time</strong></li><li>over promising and under delivering</li><li>megalomaniac</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Keep in mind, had they failed years ago, major manufacturers (read old school) would never have developed anything other than gas guzzling emission spewing cars, with the slowest worst possible displays yet seen since flip phones had larger screens. :)</p><p><br></p>

    • codymesh

      28 July, 2019 - 5:08 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#445637">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p>Americans: support American automakers! Support American manufacturing and American jobs!</p><p><br></p><p>Also Americans: no that one lol</p>

    • vadalus

      29 July, 2019 - 2:45 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#445637">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Zzz the Tesla shorts are out in force again. Saw some good debunking in the replies though… </p>

  • wright_is

    Premium Member
    29 July, 2019 - 5:00 am

    <p>The big question is, why? I just don't see the point. If I am driving the car, I don't need video. If I am at my destination, I don't need video in the car. If I am at a rest stop on the way, I want to get out and stretch my legs…</p><p>Interesting tech achievement, but I would have thought a very limited usecase, show off to your friends and done… If they ever get the autonomous driving down pat and certified, then watching films in the car becomes an interesting option – although I might want it on the windscreen so that I can't see all the close calls the car avoids and I'm not constantly putting my foot through the floor pressing a virtual brake pedal!</p><p>Other manufacturers, like Mercedes have had video playback for years, although in the form of DVD on a 2001 Mercedes E-Class… As the E-Class was the standard car for taxi drivers in Germany, I could sort of understand it, being stuck on a taxi rank for long periods of time.</p>

    • Skolvikings

      29 July, 2019 - 2:01 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#445738">In reply to wright_is:</a></em></blockquote><p>Different people do different things than you. That's the why. :)</p>

  • Energy

    Premium Member
    29 July, 2019 - 12:11 pm

    <p>With the initial support only working while the car is stopped, I probably wouldn't use it that much. However, in the situation where I am along for the ride and I have to wait for someone (while at a store, for example), I would probably use the YouTube functionality here and there. In fact, I had a situation today where I took one of my sons to get a haircut and had a ~45 minute wait. I might have used this feature if 1) I had a Tesla already and 2) the functionality was available.</p><p><br></p>

  • Lordbaal

    29 July, 2019 - 12:48 pm

    <p>This should be illegal. </p>

    • lvthunder

      Premium Member
      29 July, 2019 - 2:46 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#445814">In reply to Lordbaal:</a></em></blockquote><p>It is for the driver. That's why it only works when the car is stopped.</p>

  • John Dunagan

    Premium Member
    31 July, 2019 - 11:08 am

    <p>Gonna have to say, meh. I'd rather the streaming audio situation get worked out when I'm driving…</p>

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