An upcoming software update from Tesla should bring a considerable upgrade to the audio system in its current and new vehicles. The latest news indicates Tesla has been working with mainstream record labels for several months with the goal of bringing Dolby Atmos to Tesla vehicles. Once the software update is rolled out, Dolby Atmos will be supported in the more than 1 million Tesla vehicles currently on the road, including all new production vehicles as well.
Dolby Atmos is a surround sound format from Dolby that uses ultra-many channels to interpret the sound as a three-dimensional object. Dolby Atmos debuted in Los Angeles in 2012 and has since made its way into thousands of movie theaters, home theaters, and even cars.
Early last year, Lucid Motors was the first automaker to bring Dolby Atmos to its Lucid Air sedan. This fall, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz revealed that they, too, will be bringing Dolby Atmos to more cars. Volvo’s EX90 SUV will have Dolby Atmos, while Mercedes-Benz is adding panoramic sound to the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and its EQE, EQE SUV, EQS and EQS SUV electric cars. Soon after, Tesla also appeared on this list.
As previously reported, Apple Music integration appears to be in the works for Tesla vehicles as well. Earlier this week, a Twitter user spotted the app on a Tesla Model S in a show car at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
It’s possible that Apple Music and Apple’s spatial audio technology will also support Dolby Atmos, but we were unable to confirm this specifically with our sources.
The Tesla and Apple Music integration could be coming to Tesla vehicles in a holiday update before the end of the year, but it’s unclear if Dolby Atmos support will be ready at the same time. Owners may find surprises in their cars when the update rolls out later this month or in December.
