SCREENRIDEUse your Tesla screen as a second monitor for your MacBook
If you work from the road, between client visits, on a long charge, or waiting for a school pickup, the biggest screen around is the one in your car. With the right app, a Tesla's touchscreen can become a second display for your MacBook, and you can reach out and touch it.
What you need
- A Mac running macOS 14 Sonoma or later (Apple silicon or Intel).
- An iPhone with Personal Hotspot, running ScreenRide.
- A Tesla whose browser plays video (MCU2 or newer), parked.
- A USB cable between the Mac and the iPhone. Joining the iPhone's hotspot over Wi-Fi also works, but the cable is steadier.
- ScreenRide Pro. You buy it once in the iPhone app, and it unlocks the Mac features too.
How the connection works
The car can't talk to your Mac directly: Tesla's browser refuses to open local network addresses. So the iPhone sits in the middle. The car joins the iPhone's hotspot, the Mac connects to the iPhone, and the iPhone relays the Mac's screen to the car's browser. Nothing goes over the internet, and nothing passes through our servers. It works in a parking garage with no signal.
Setting it up
- Install ScreenRide for Mac from screenride.net. It lives in the menu bar.
- On the iPhone, turn on Personal Hotspot with Maximize Compatibility off, and join it from the car.
- Connect the Mac to the iPhone with a USB cable.
- In ScreenRide on the iPhone, choose Mac and tap Start. The iPhone finds the Mac by itself.
- In the car's browser, open car.screenride.net and enter the pairing code.
- In ScreenRide's menu bar window on the Mac, leave Use the car as a second screen on for an extended display, or turn it off to mirror.
The first time, macOS asks for three permissions: Screen Recording (to capture the screen), Accessibility (so touches on the car can move the pointer) and Local Network (to reach the iPhone). If you run a firewall like Little Snitch or LuLu, allow ScreenRide's connections.
Mirror or extend?
Mirror shows your Mac's screen as-is. It's good for showing something to a passenger or reading a document on a bigger surface.
Extended display adds a new virtual display to macOS, sized to what the car's browser reports, and you drag windows onto it like any external monitor. This is where it earns its keep: code on the laptop and a terminal, logs or a chat window on the car; a spreadsheet on one and the source PDF on the other.
Touch controls
- Tap to click.
- Drag to move windows, select text or drag files.
- Two fingers to scroll.
- Long press for a right-click.
On the Mac you can pick the feel: Like iPad taps exactly where your finger lands, while Trackpad lets your finger move the pointer, which is easier for small targets.
It isn't a full multi-touch tablet, but for scrolling a log or clicking through a dashboard without reaching for the trackpad, it's surprisingly natural.
Working comfortably in the car
- Turn on Camp Mode (in the climate controls) so the screen and climate stay on in Park. Reports put the draw at roughly 1% of battery an hour in mild weather, and Camp Mode turns itself off at about 20% charge.
- Use the car screen for glanceable things. The car's browser presents roughly a 1280×720 page, so dense text is best kept on the laptop. Bump up font size for anything you put on the car.
- Sit in the driver's seat with the laptop on a lap desk, or in the passenger seat to face the screen more directly.
- Keep the iPhone on a charger. It's relaying the whole time.
Other ways to do it
The only other Tesla-specific option we know of is SideDisplay, which also uses the car's browser. Per its launch page, it uses WebRTC, needs you to tether for internet, supports Apple silicon Macs on macOS 15 or later and Windows 11, and offers 60 free minutes a week. The main difference with ScreenRide is the route: SideDisplay goes through the internet, while ScreenRide stays on the local link through your iPhone, which also gives you iPhone mirroring in the same app.
Questions
Does using the Tesla screen as a Mac monitor need internet?
Not with ScreenRide. The Mac connects to your iPhone by USB cable or hotspot, and the car joins the iPhone's hotspot. The picture stays on that local link.
Can I touch the Tesla screen to control my Mac?
Yes. Tap to click, drag to move windows or select, and use two fingers to scroll. macOS asks for Accessibility permission the first time so touches can move the pointer.
Which Macs work?
ScreenRide for Mac runs on macOS 14 Sonoma or later, on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
Will it drain the car battery?
The screen and climate draw power while you work. Tesla's Camp Mode keeps them on in Park; owners commonly report around 1% of battery an hour in mild weather, more when heating or cooling hard.