Editing Openai/6916559b-c940-800f-83b2-1ad7497951e9 (section)

=== Assistant: Because CarPlay / Android Auto turn the car into a dumb terminal, while “run Android apps in the car” turns the car int… ===
Because CarPlay / Android Auto turn the car into a dumb terminal, while “run Android apps in the car” turns the car into a smartphone. Being a dumb terminal is way easier.

Let me break it down.

==== 1. Where the complexity lives ====

===== CarPlay / Android Auto =====
* Phone runs the apps. Maps, Spotify, WhatsApp… all run on iOS/Android.
* The car just: - shows a video/scene the phone renders, - sends touch/knob/button events back, - exposes a few data channels (GPS, steering wheel buttons, audio, maybe car status).

So Tesla’s job is “implement this projection protocol cleanly and securely”.

===== Native Android apps on the Tesla screen =====
* Tesla would have to: - run an Android framework / runtime (VM or container), - manage app installation, updates, permissions, - deal with Play Services / Google APIs or some replacement, - schedule CPU/GPU/RAM for all these apps, - make sure none of them break the UX or safety.

That’s a whole extra OS to ship and maintain.

==== 2. API surface & safety ====

===== CarPlay / Android Auto =====
* Apple/Google provide strongly limited templates: - special UIs for maps, media, messaging, - strict “no video while driving”, etc.
* Third-party apps talk to CarPlay/AA APIs on the phone. The car only sees: - “here is a compositor surface” - “here is a list of buttons”
* Safety model: - Apple/Google enforce what’s allowed while driving. - Tesla just enforces “if projection is active, do/don’t show X”.

So Tesla integrates a well-defined, narrow interface.

===== Native Android in the car =====
* Any APK could: - draw arbitrary things, - try to run in the background, - spam notifications, - do weird orientation/resize behavior.
* Tesla would have to invent: - their own “app in a moving vehicle” policy, - custom APIs so apps know when the car is driving vs parked, - mechanisms to kill / throttle apps that misbehave.

That’s a much bigger, fuzzier design problem.

==== 3. Security & liability ====

===== With CarPlay / Android Auto =====
* Attack surface is basically: - the projection protocol implementation, - some USB/Bluetooth/network handling.
* App bugs live on the phone side; sandboxing is Apple’s/Google’s problem.
* When a random app is malicious or crashes: - it breaks on your phone, - Apple/Google can pull it from their store.

Tesla mostly has to ensure that even if projection misbehaves, their critical systems and core UI are unaffected.

===== With native Android apps =====

Tesla would be responsible for:
* patching Android security CVEs,
* isolating untrusted native code in APKs,
* preventing GPU / CPU starvation of the main UI,
* making sure no app can get to CAN bus / internal networks.

That’s full mobile OS vendor territory.

==== 4. Updates and maintenance ====

===== CarPlay / Android Auto =====
* New features / bug fixes in apps → handled by phone OS + app updates.
* Tesla: - updates their firmware occasionally for compatibility, - passes certification test suites from Apple/Google.

The update cadence is slower and the scope is narrower.

===== Native Android apps in the car =====

Tesla would have to:
* roll frequent firmware updates just to keep pace with: - new Android releases, - security patches, - API changes,
* deal with: - “after 2027.14, banking app XYZ crashes on login in landscape”, - “YouTube app update broke audio focus when reversing”.

That’s an OEM app store support nightmare.

==== 5. Business / control angle (not just engineering) ====

CarPlay/Android Auto:
* You give Apple/Google one controlled “window” in your UI.
* You still control: - your own navigation, media, voice assistant, - data flows from the car (you can limit what goes to the phone).

Full Android app support:
* You create a parallel ecosystem inside your car that competes with: - Tesla’s own navigation, media, games, browser, - Tesla’s own app store / subscriptions / data collection.

Even if technically doable, it gives up a lot of strategic control.

==== TL;DR ====

Implementing CarPlay/Android Auto is “just”:

: Implement a projection protocol, stream video/inputs, pass a few data channels, and let Apple/Google handle apps, security, UX rules, and updates.

Running native Android apps in the car is:

: Ship and maintain an entire Android stack, plus a safe automotive app ecosystem, plus all the security & UX constraints on top.

That’s why, from Tesla’s perspective, CarPlay/Android Auto are ''much'' easier than “run arbitrary Android apps on the Tesla screen” – even though they still chose not to do it (for now) for strategic, not technical, reasons.