Tesla mulls local Radio Traffic Announcements for accidents and road closures

Tesla may soon be offering live Radio Traffic Announcements, abbreviated RTA, as an image of the unannounced feature has been unearthed in the latest 2022.40.1 software update. Radio Traffic Announcements are present on the infotainment system of several legacy automakers and would interrupt your music, podcast, or audiobook playback if there is a traffic jam, accident, or road closures ahead. 

This could be an element of a comprehensive push to improve the safety of Tesla drivers with vehicle-to-vehicle communication, too. Tesla recently upgraded its Emergency Safety Solutions option to include the Hazard Enhancement Location Protocol (HELP) with reports of a vehicle in trouble to other Tesla cars around. This feature is currently using the navigation system, but if RTA is thrown into the mix, the infotainment one can also interrupt listening and warn you of the potential looming trouble on your way.

"A Tesla ahead of you has seen a road closure, and you get that real-time update to your car, so you don’t get stuck in the road closure situation. That’s the stuff that we are working on right now," said Elon Musk back in the summer, and the Radio Traffic Announcements feature could be one piece of that puzzle when it is released to Tesla vehicles with some of the next software updates.

On another note, Tesla owners have been clamoring for features like having the SiriusXM satellite radio app on the infotainment console for a while now, and would probably prefer to have access to their SiriusXM Traffic subscription in a more direct way. The potential for a tighter integration of Tesla's future Radio Traffic Announcements with its Emergency Safety Solutions system would add extra value to the feature, though. 

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