8 new car models that quietly dropped AM radio

AM radio has quietly disappeared from a growing list of new vehicles as automakers redesign infotainment systems for electric and hybrid drivetrains. Some models dropped the analog band outright, while a newer wave of Tesla trims is going further and removing FM tuners as well. Here are eight car models that dropped AM radio.

1. BMW i3: The First EV Without AM

BMW eliminated analog AM radio broadcasting from its electric and plug-in hybrid models starting with the i3 in 2014, part of a list of automakers that dropped the band compiled by Senator Ed Markey’s office. The i3 marked the first BMW EV or PHEV sold without the analog band, years before the practice spread across the industry.

Every BMW EV and PHEV released since the i3 has followed the same approach, keeping AM off the dashboard while FM and digital audio options remained standard. The choice made BMW one of the earliest automakers on record to treat the analog band as optional rather than a fixture.

2. Polestar 2: Missing Since Launch

The Polestar 2 has never offered AM radio, lacking the band since launch, according to the same list of automakers that names BMW. Polestar built the analog tuner into no version of the electric sedan, treating its absence as a starting assumption rather than a later removal.

That places the Polestar 2 in a smaller group of EVs designed without AM from the outset, rather than models that phased the band out over successive model years. Drivers who want AM programming in a Polestar 2 have no factory option to add it.

3. Polestar 3: The SUV Skips It Too

Like its sedan sibling, the Polestar 3 SUV has never included AM radio, missing the band since it first went on sale. The same list of automakers that flagged the Polestar 2 names the Polestar 3 as another model built without the analog tuner from day one.

Polestar has not added AM to either car in a later software or hardware update, so the omission is a design choice carried across the brand’s lineup rather than a one-off change. Buyers cross-shopping the 3 against combustion SUVs will find AM absent regardless of trim.

4. Ford F-150 Lightning: The Electric Truck Exception

The Ford F-150 Lightning is named among the new EVs that dropped AM radio entirely, according to a Forbes report on the backlash that followed. The electric pickup carries the F-150 name, but unlike the gas-powered version, its infotainment system has no analog AM tuner built in.

Forbes counted the Lightning alongside EVs from BMW, Porsche, Audi, Volvo and Volkswagen that made the same change, describing pushback from drivers who lost access to the band. Ford has kept the Lightning’s lineup that way since the report was published in 2023.

5. Tesla Model S: A Flagship Sedan Loses AM

The Tesla Model S appears in the same Forbes list of new EVs that dropped AM radio, reported alongside the F-150 Lightning and models from BMW, Porsche, Audi, Volvo and Volkswagen. Tesla’s flagship sedan left the analog tuner off its infotainment system as part of that broader industry shift.

Tesla’s decision placed the Model S in the same group of newly built EVs that Forbes found losing the band as automakers redesigned infotainment systems. Owners of the affected Model S units have no analog AM option through the car’s touchscreen radio app.

6. Rivian R2: No AM or FM At All

The incoming Rivian R2 will omit AM and FM radio hardware entirely, going further than automakers that dropped only the AM band. The midsize electric SUV’s infotainment system will rely on streaming and app-based audio instead of any broadcast tuner.

That design drew visible criticism from drivers who expected FM to work as a backup in the backcountry, where cellular data and streaming service can drop out entirely. Rivian’s approach makes the R2 a more extreme case than the AM-only removals seen across most of the rest of the industry, since even FM reception disappears from the vehicle.

7. Tesla Model 3 (Standard, 2026): Standard Trim Cuts Both Bands

Tesla’s 2026 Standard Model 3 trim drops AM and FM tuners entirely, part of the changes distinguishing Tesla’s lower-cost Standard trim from its pricier configurations. The change removes both broadcast bands from the car’s infotainment system rather than just the AM tuner most other automakers targeted.

The move lands as Congress considers legislation that would require automakers to keep AM radio in new vehicles, a debate the standard-trim Tesla cuts sit directly inside. Buyers who want either broadcast band in a 2026 Model 3 need a trim above the base Standard configuration.

8. Tesla Model Y (Standard, 2026): Same Change, Second Tesla

The 2026 Standard Model Y also loses both AM and FM tuners, following the same cost-cutting change Tesla applied to the Standard Model 3. As with the sedan, the automaker’s least-expensive Model Y configuration ships without a broadcast radio receiver of any kind.

The Model Y change mirrors the Model 3 cut exactly, meaning both of Tesla’s 2026 Standard-trim vehicles ship without any broadcast radio hardware in their base configuration. It arrives as lawmakers debate a bill that would require AM radio in new vehicles, a requirement the Standard trim’s design does not anticipate.