New base-model Teslas have no radio

[Daemoch]

What you want to do a search for is "speaker pods" for what ever model vehicle you have and where ever you want to mount a speaker(s).

Most my pre 1970s cars either have no stereo, mono speaker, or common ground 2 speaker systems (power wire to the + side, - to the nearest body point). Ive never NOT put in a modern 4+ speaker system in one.

You would be AMAZED at how tiny a space I can fit a serious sub into.

 

[KevinRS]

On installing a regular head unit and wired speakers, some parts will be far easier than most cars. Some cars you have to dismantle the whole dash to get to the wires, or even just unscrew the stock unit, looks like slate will be lift up and remove the cloth covered panels, maybe add a bought or 3d printed bracket to mount the din or double din.

For traditional speakers though, it might get complicated. Where to mount them, and wiring them from all appearances will be completely on you from scratch, or a kit you buy aftermarket, unless slate offers one.

 

[KevinRS]

What you want to do a search for is "speaker pods" for what ever model vehicle you have and where ever you want to mount a speaker(s).

Most my pre 1970s cars either have no stereo, mono speaker, or common ground 2 speaker systems (power wire to the + side, - to the nearest body point). Ive never NOT put in a modern 4+ speaker system in one.

You would be AMAZED at how tiny a space I can fit a serious sub into.

I do kind of want to see what behind the seats looks like. It's possible the "footwell" for the SUV configuration is open to the cab in the truck configuration, in which case that is open storage space that hasn't been mentioned, or space for fitting things like a serious sub without worrying about the space being tiny.

 

[Daemoch]

I do kind of want to see what behind the seats looks like. It's possible the "footwell" for the SUV configuration is open to the cab in the truck configuration, in which case that is open storage space that hasn't been mentioned, or space for fitting things like a serious sub without worrying about the space being tiny.

A lot of cars have them mounted under the front seats. Landrover for example. My current favorite car sub is a 10" that only wants a sealed 1/2 cubic foot; its basically just enough box to wrap around the basket - think the size of a shoebox. But jesus does it punch!

 

[GaRailroader]

I’d bet that big oil and perhaps legacy auto are also lobbying for requiring AM radios in all vehicles knowing that is a real challenge for the EV auto makers depending on their electronics. My 2018 Model 3 doesn’t have AM.

 

[Daemoch]

I’d bet that big oil and perhaps legacy auto are also lobbying for requiring AM radios in all vehicles knowing that is a real challenge for the EV auto makers depending on their electronics. My 2018 Model 3 doesn’t have AM.

My understanding is its mostly the broadcasters, the ad companies, and a variety of 'safety' focused organizations that still think AM broadcasts will be society's saving grace after The Big One.

The challenge to/for EVs got removed when Sirius, XM, and finally digital radio took over and they had their fight. Big Oil knows to spend its lobby money better than that and Legacy Auto really doesn't care - to them its just one less penny to have to spend on every vehicle if they DONT have to include a radio transistor crystal. :/

 

[sodamo]

Increasingly people are already on unlimited plans.
A few months ago I switched mine from $20 plus 10 per GB to:
unlimited for $35 throttled after 30 GB,
because I was going over the 1.5 GB that made it make sense.
Areas that have no cell reception... not a whole lot of those. I know when we went camping at kings canyon NP reception was non-existent in areas, and sure there are sections in the middle of the country and in the desert that have those issues, but this isn't a cross country road trip truck.

LOL
i have probably 4 dead AT&T areas between my house and town, about same going the other direction. Should I change to Verizon or someone elsethose areas would shift, it’s a matter of terrain blockage. Also get blockage on my FM radio, but that seems to be affected by weather. If I drive to Costco I have to switch frequencies for same station but with a dead zone in between.

 

[AZFox]

Most vehicles now have speakers in the doors. Slate doesn't have those, and there may be no space for them.

I the Rich Rebuilds video Slate's head of engineering said they expect people to put insane sound systems in the Truck.

I expect the doors to be designed so they'll accommodate speakers.

 

[KevinRS]

I the Rich Rebuilds video Slate's head of engineering said they expect people to put insane sound systems in the Truck.

I expect the doors to be designed so they'll accommodate speakers.

Are doors really the best, or even a good place to put speakers? We are already shown a center dash, 2 side dash, and a lower center location, that would all face towards the driver and passenger, and subs would probably easily go behind the seats.

edit: forgot there are another set of speakers in the maker that I haven't figured out where they go.

 

[OldGoat]

Love Slate's no infotainment plan. Leave it to Crutchfield and others to come up with killer sound for those that need it. Having it portable is a plus to me as well. So I can either use my phone of high res AK player with whatever powered speaker(s) I choose. Only downside? Charging cords.
Was an early adapter to satellite radio but the content went from DJ curated to computer drivel and the talk stations become intolerable and inane. And despite rising fees the commercials snuck in. As for over the air radio ...the same. So I just use Apple Music and use my play list choices or stream free * Radio Paradise stations. Yeah I pay for Apple Music but use it a lot at home and for building various playlists. I haven't listened to AM radio in years. Politics, religion, huckster commercials, and static coupled with horrible compression.
* I do send in some donations to RP as they do a helluva job getting new music into my ears

 

[YDR37]

My understanding is its mostly the broadcasters, the ad companies, and a variety of 'safety' focused organizations that still think AM broadcasts will be society's saving grace after The Big One.

It's the broadcasters. Cars without radios threaten their very existence. You may or may not use the AM/FM radio in your car very much, but think about this: how often do you listen to AM/FM radio when you're NOT in the car?

For most people, the answer would probably be: "even less" or "never". If you're not in your car, chances are that you're in your home or workplace, and chances are that those places have wifi and unlimited access to streams.

The car is traditional radio's last hope. If cars don't have radios, AM/FM stations become nearly worthless.

 

[YDR37]

Big Oil knows to spend its lobby money better than that

Big Oil probably doesn't care. However, Big Electricity is siding with the EV companies, like Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, and Waymo. Electricity suppliers like ConEd, Duke Energy, Edison International., EVgo, and PG&E are also members of ZETA, which is fighting against the AM Radio bill.

 

[YDR37]

I haven't listened to AM radio in years. Politics, religion, huckster commercials, and static coupled with horrible compression.

Yeah, there are obviously a lot of political and religious stations on the AM band. And not surprisingly, those AM broadcasters want to keep AM radios in cars -- for example, the National Religious Broadcasters are big supporters of the "AM Radio in Every Vehicle" act. And it seems possible that those AM political and religious broadcasters might have significant influence, particularly in certain parts of the political spectrum.

 

[Zorba]

Ok, so they remove the radio - which I don't have a problem with as I seldom run sound of ANY kind in the car - but they still have all the wifi/BT/smartphone junk. Makes zero sense. Get rid of that nonsense and give me a radio or at least a DIN slot. But Tesla is Tesla, they'll never move away from the technology overload model.