I Almost Sold My Model S Over the One Thing Tesla Won't Add. A $139.99 Box Fixed It in 5 Minutes.
I loved almost everything about my Model S. The one thing I could not forgive was the missing Apple CarPlay. After months of fighting it, one plug-in box ended the problem for good. SpaceBox puts full wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on the built-in screen in about 5 minutes, with no wiring and no monthly subscription. One payment of $139.99, rated 4.54 out of 5 across 265 reviews.
4.54/5 from 265 reviews · 30-day returns · 2-year warranty
I almost sold it. Not over range, not over price. Over the fact that every single drive, my phone sat in the cupholder with Waze open and there was no clean way to get it onto that 15-inch screen. A car that can park itself, and I was squinting at a phone in my lap like it was 2010.
I tried all of it. A vent mount that drooped in the heat. Tesla's $9.99-a-month subscription that still would not run Waze. Two cheap marketplace adapters that lagged and dropped on the highway. I had a trade-in quote saved on my phone. Then someone in my owners group showed me the one fix that actually held.
The one gap every Tesla owner notices
If you drive a Tesla, you already know this gap. A premium car, a 15-inch screen, and still no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Tesla had every reason to add it and simply chose not to. So your phone lives in the cupholder with Waze open, and the best screen in the car sits half-empty while you drive.
Most owners try the same three things first, and none of them really close the gap:
- Phone mounts. They droop in the heat, block a vent, and leave you squinting at a 6-inch phone bolted next to a 15-inch screen. A workaround, never a fix.
- Cheap marketplace adapters. The $39 listings lag, overheat in the sun, and drop the connection at highway speed. You return one, try the next, and burn a hundred dollars proving they do not last.
- Tesla Premium Connectivity. $9.99 a month. That is nearly $120 a year on the monthly plan, every year, and it still will not run Waze, your own music, or your messages on the screen. You are paying rent on a feature that never arrives.
How SpaceBox works, in about 5 minutes
What you get
- Full wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Maps, music, calls and messages on the entire built-in screen. Switch between phones in a tap.
- Uses your Tesla's own screen. No mount, no second tablet, no clutter on the dash. The screen you already paid for, finally doing its job.
- Wireless or wired, your choice. It reconnects to your phone on its own every drive, and when you want the cable, plug the phone in. Free system updates keep it matched to Tesla software.
- Plug-and-play and fully reversible. No wiring, no app to install, and it unplugs in ten seconds to leave the car bone stock.
- Fits your Tesla. Model Y, 3, S, X and Cybertruck with the AMD Ryzen computer, including the Highland and Juniper refreshes.
SpaceBox vs the usual fixes
| The usual fixes | SpaceBox | |
|---|---|---|
| Your apps on the big screen | Mount: tiny phone screen. Subscription: still no Waze. | Full Waze, Google Maps, Spotify and messages on the built-in screen |
| Cost | $9.99 a month, every month, for Premium Connectivity | $139.99 one time. No subscription. |
| Install | Mounts wobble; cheap adapters need fiddling | Plug into the USB port. About 5 minutes. |
| Reliability | Cheap adapters can lag and drop on the highway | Reconnects every drive, free system updates |
| When you sell the car | A subscription leaves you with nothing | Unplug it in 10 seconds, car is fully stock |
| Warranty | Hardwired kits can raise questions | Non-invasive, no wiring, fully reversible |
$139.99 once, or $9.99 every month
Tesla Premium Connectivity is $9.99 a month. On the monthly plan that is nearly $120 every year you own the car, and five years of it is about $600, for a feature that still will not put Waze or your own music on the screen. SpaceBox is one payment of $139.99. You buy it once, you own it, and it keeps working long after a subscription would have quietly cost you four times as much.
Get Wireless CarPlay for $139.99 →One payment · no subscription · reversible in 10 seconds
What Tesla owners say
Verbatim from SpaceBox reviews on teslahubs.com. Individual experiences; results vary.
Questions Tesla owners ask
Get Wireless CarPlay on Your Tesla
SpaceBox Wireless CarPlay Adapter
SpaceBox only uses the USB port and never touches your car's software. Plug it in or unplug it, and the car is exactly as it was.
YOU SAVE $159 (53% OFF)
No subscription, ever.
Add Wireless CarPlay · $139.99 →Free US shipping · 4.54/5 from 265 reviews · 30-day returns · 2-year warranty
$139.99 once, about 5 minutes to install, your apps on your Tesla's own screen.