Tesla cars to stream Netflix

Owners of the Tesla Model 3, Model S and Model X will soon be able to catch up on their favourite Netflix box sets and YouTube videos via their car's infotainment system, it has been revealed.

According to Tesla's owner, Elon Musk, a forthcoming update for the current model line-up will allow the entertainment services to be screened in all three EVs.

Until now, video playback capacity in Tesla vehicles has been locked, allowing only the reversing camera to display video, although one US Tesla owner recently hacked the infotainment system to stream Netflix.

Musk said the official software update will deliver "an amazingly immersive, cinematic feel due to the comfy seats & surround audio".

Best suited for the full mobile cinema experience will no doubt be the current Tesla Model 3 as it is the only car in the range that mounts its (15-inch) infotainment screen horizontally or landscape-style, rather than vertically or portrait-style, as in the Model S and X (17-inch).

For now, Netflix and YouTube content will only be viewable when the vehicle is parked. In the future, however, Tesla will allow owners to watch video on the move, but only once the car-maker's self-driving aids have been approved by regulators.

Tesla has not provided a date for when that might be, leading some experts to suggest a timeline of at least five years away.

The introduction of software to support the streaming services, meanwhile, is set to happen sometime in August.