How to Connect Tidal to Tesla with or without HiFi/HiFi Plus

Part 1. What Is Tidal on Tesla?

Tidal is now supported in Tesla vehicles as part of the 2021.40 software update and the Tidal app is now available from the Media menu on the touchscreen. By integrating with Tidal, Tesla enthusiasts are granted seamless access to Tidal's extensive music streaming catalog, featuring a vast library of over 100 million tracks and an impressive collection of more than 650,000 music videos, all without leaving the comfort of their vehicle. Simply by signing into your Tidal account via Tesla's main menu, you can enjoy Tidal's services in your car with ease. This integration significantly enriches the Tesla driving experience.

To access Tidal on Tesla, a subscription to HiFi or HiFi Plus is required to use the in-car integration. Please ensure to sign up for the desired subscription plan before getting started.

Part 2. Tidal VS Spotify: Which Is Better on Tesla?

Tidal is an attractive option for Tesla owners who want to listen to music in a higher sound quality. Tidal's focus on high-quality audio, including lossless and high-resolution formats. The higher bitrates offered by Tidal, such as 41,11Kbps for Tidal HiFi and even higher for Tidal HiFi Plus sound lossless and high-resolution formats. Tidal provide a superior listening experience compared to the 320kbps limit of Spotify's current highest audio quality.

Tidal HiFi ($9.99/month):

This tier provides lossless, CD-quality audio at 1,411kbps (FLAC format). This means you can enjoy the music in its highest quality, as if you were listening to a physical CD in your Tesla.

Tidal HiFi Plus($19.99/month):

This tier takes the audio quality even further by offering high-resolution audio up to 9216kbps (MQA format). It provides an enhanced listening experience with even more detail and clarity.

Spotify Premium ($9.99/month):

This tier offers a maximum audio quality of 320kbps.

While Spotify's 320kbps is a decent quality for most listeners and provides a good overall experience, it falls short compared to Tidal's lossless and high-resolution options.

Spotify on Tesla: Play Spotify on Tesla Online & Offline

If you have a Telsa, you might be curious how to play Spotify on Tesla. Getting started is very easy, and you can read this post to know how to enjoy Spotify on Tesla.

Part 3. How to Connect Tidal to Tesla with HiFi/HiFi Plus

As previously indicated, accessing the Tidal app on your Tesla requires a subscription to either Tidal HiFi or HiFi Plus. In this part, we will guide you through the process of utilizing Tidal within your Tesla once you've subscribed. However, if you're currently enjoying Tidal's free tier, you can bypass this section and proceed directly to Part 4.

3.1 How to Add and Play Tidal to Tesla:

To connect Tidal to Tesla with your HiFi or HiFi Plus subscription, please follow these steps:

1. Ensure your Tesla is connected to the internet. To connect to a Wi-Fi network, touch Controls > the Wi-Fi icon, and select an available Wi-Fi network to use with the password.
2. Ensure your Tesla software is up to date to access the Tidal integration. To update your Tesla software, touch Software > Software Update (if an update is available).
3. In the infotainment system in your Tesla, tap on the car icon at the bottom of the touchscreen display.
4. Select the Media option. In the Media menu, you should see Tidal is available as a Media app, then select the Tidal icon.
5. Now you will get a QR code, then scan the QR code with your phone to log in to your Tidal HiFi or HiFi Plus account.
6. Once logged in, you will see the Tidal interface on the touchscreen.
7. You can play any online Tidal tracks, playlists, albums or artists you want to listen on Tesla.

3.2 How to Download Tidal on Tesla:

Tidal does offer the ability to download tracks via Wi-Fi to play them offline on your Tesla. To download Tidal music to your Tesla, follow these steps:

1. Ensure your Tesla is connected to a Wi-Fi network. If you haven't connected to Wi-Fi, touch Controls > the Wi-Fi icon, then use an available Wi-Fi network.
2. Touch the Tidal icon on your touchscreen.
3. Go to My Collection to locate the tracks, playlists or albums you want to download to your Tesla.
4. Touch the Download icon, then the selections will be downloaded to your Tesla.
5. Now you can touch the 'Downloaded' button to view and listen to Tidal music offline on Tesla.

Part 4. How to Play Tidal on Tesla without HiFi/HiFi Plus

To use Tidal integration in Tesla vehicels, a subscription to Tidal's HiFi ($9.99/month) or HiFi Plus ($19.99/month) is required. However, it's still possible for Tidal users on the free tier to play Tidal on Tesla if you don't plan to subscribe to Tidal HiFi or HiFi Plus. So how can you play Tidal on Tesla without the Tidal subsriptions?

Tesla S, 3, X, and Y models have USB ports in the front compartment of the center console, which allows playing audio files from a Bluetooth-connected device, such as a phone or a USB-connected flash drive. Tidal users on the free tier can play Tidal music on Tesla by downloading and converting Tidal tracks to MP3 or FLAC using a Tidal music downloader called ViWizard Tidal Music Converter. Once Converted, you can transfer the audio files to your devcie and play in your Tesla. Even after cancelling Tidal paird subscriptions, you can play your collection offline on Tesla.

Tool You'll Need: ViWizard Tidal Music Converter

ViWizard Tidal Music Converter is the best Tidal music downloader designed for both Tidal HiFi, HiFi Plus and free users to download Tidal tracks to a commonly-used format. You can choose to convert and download the selections to MP3, M4A, M4B, WAV, AAC, and FLAC. To download Tidal music to Tesla, please choose MP3 or FLAC. What's more, the lossless audio and full ID3 tags will be kept with the downloaded audio files.

Key Features of ViWizard Tidal Music Converter

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• Download any Tidal content, including songs, albums, playlists, and artists
• Support exporting Tidal music to MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV, M4A, and M4B
• Preserve a whole set of ID3 tag information in the downloaded Tidal songs
• Handle the conversion of Tidal music up to 5× faster speed and in batch

Step 1Add Tidal tracks to download

Launch the ViWizard Tidal Music Converter. When prompts on the screen, launch or relaunch the Tidal desktop app to load the music collection with a logged in account. Now head to Tidal tracks to add to ViWizard via drag/drop.

Step 2Set the output format

Click on the menu icon in the upper-right corner of the screen, then select Preferences. Choose the Convert tab, and open the options menu for Output format then choose MP3 or FLAC. Click OK to save.

Step 3Convert and download Tidal tracks

Click on the Convert button on the main interface of ViWizard and the conversion should start. Once the conversion is complete, all the download audio files will be stored on the output folder on the computer. Click Open next to the output path to browse for the downloaded files.

Step 4Transfer Tidal audio files to USB flash drive

Connect your USB drive to the computer, and open it in the File Explorer (PC) or Finder (Mac). When browsing the downloaded Tidal folder and files, copy them to the desired position on your USB drive.

Part 5. How to Play Tidal on Tesla from USB

Now you can play the stored Tidal audio files from your USB flash drive on any media player. To play Tidal from a USB-connected flash disk on Tesla, follow these steps:

1. Begin by connecting a USB drive to your computer.
2. Subsequently, locate and click on the "Device with removable storage" option to acknowledge the connected drive.
3. Proceed to navigate through your computer to the directory where you've stored the Tidal music files that have been converted. From this point, select and transfer your preferred Tidal tracks onto the USB storage device.
4. Next, secure the USB drive into the Tesla media player. Once done, interact with the media player interface and select the USB option. You will then need to choose the specific folder containing your transferred songs.
5. Now the contents of a folder on your USB hard drive will be displayed on the touchscreen. You can simply select any Tidal track and play it directly from the Tesla media player, without the necessity of a Tidal HiFi or HiFi Plus subscription.

Extra Tip: How to Fix Tidal App on Tesla Not Working

Should you encounter any operational issues with the Tidal app within your Tesla, consider these problem-solving techniques to restore a smooth music streaming experience in your vehicle.

• Fix 1. Review the Tidal App Status

  Check if there are reported outages or known concerns by visiting Tidal's official social media accounts on Twitter or Facebook. Use the same Wi-Fi connection to stream content from different music services to pinpoint whether the problem is isolated to the Tidal app.

• Fix 2. Alter Your Internet Connection

  If you're experiencing an unstable Wi-Fi connection, switch to another network such as mobile data to potentially resolve connectivity issues.

• Fix 3. Ensure Software is Updated

  Make sure that your Tidal app is current with the most recent version. Tesla regularly pushes software updates which may include bug fixes that could help rectify any problems with the Tidal app.

• Fix 4. Reset Network Settings

  Persistent issues with the Tidal app might be resolved by resetting your Tesla's network settings, which can help clear any connectivity hindrances affecting the app.

• Fix 5. Examine Audio Settings

  Ensure that your device's volume is set appropriately and is not on mute. Also, confirm that the audio output settings are correctly set for your Tesla's system.

• Fix 6. Utilize ViWizard Tidal Music Converter

  This tool enables you to convert Tidal tracks for offline playback in a format compatible with Tesla. Once converted, you can enjoy Tidal content in your Tesla without relying on the Tidal app for Tesla.

Conclusion

Now you know how to use the Tidal integration on your Tesla car if you have the Tidal HiFI or HiFi Plus subscription. If you are on the free tier, you can play the actual files of your favorite Tidal tracks from your USB-connected flash drive by converting and downloading them by using ViWizard Tidal Music Converter.