From Eric Peters at ericpetersautos.com
You have probably heard that many new EVs – including those made by Tesla and Ford – do not come with AM radio. Or rather, don’t come with AM receivers.
It’s the why that’s interesting.
EV drivetrains create electromagnetic interference and that interferes with AM radio reception badly enough that the people who have bought EVs with AM radio have complained about it – understandably so. You just bought a new vehicle- and if it’s an EV, it’s a very expensive one – and there’s static on the radio.
The problem is there’s apparently no fixing it – at least, not without elaborate (and so, expensive) shielding.
So the “fix” is to delete AM.
It’s a fix of a piece with deleting the AC because you can’t get the compressor to work – or because the latest variant of refrigerant doesn’t work (and that’s not as far-off as it sounds).
Anyhow, it’s bye-bye AM. Which is unfortunate – but for a reason many probably haven’t considered. The cracking sound coming over the speakers was a clue about the EV’s electromagnetic emissions that cannot be seen.
But they are there.