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Various media have reported that there is a radio on Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster, now in orbit around the Sun, and that this radio is playing music (for example: BBC reporting that David Bowie's classic hit Space Oddity will be looping on the radio, iNews reports on the radio set to play David Bowie’s Space Oddity on loop). But radio communication in interplanetary space normally requires directional antennas and attitude control, both of which are not usually present in an unmodified car (well, attitude control is, but it won't work without friction). Nor do cars normally have radio transmitters.

Is there a really a radio on Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster, "playing" Space Oddity? Does that mean it's receiving a radio signal sent from somewhere, or rather that it is broadcasting this for anyone caring to listen? Can we communicate with it, then?

gerrit
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    There is an onboard entertainment system that does have a radio receiver. If you want to call this "a radio" is up to you. But I think that everyone that watches the news knows that —these days — whenever someone mentions "a radio" in the context of an automobile it is not only an AM/FM receiver but a complete system that comes with a disc player, a USB slot, maybe a Bluetooth unit, navigation application, car diagnostics overview, UI for managing the climate system, and so on. – MichaelK Feb 07 '18 at 15:06
  • @MichaelK I see, it must be a language issue then. Looks like wiktionary does not cover the "car onboard entertainment system" definition. – gerrit Feb 07 '18 at 15:26
  • A car AM/FM receiver is passive receiver. For communication, a combination of a receiver and transmitter is necessary to enable upload and download. – Uwe Feb 07 '18 at 15:30
  • @gerrit Well if we are going to be nit-picky in the extreme: Radio is not the thingy that receives transmissions and turns it into audio. Radio is the technology by which we use radio transmitters to broadcast radio transmissions, which are then picked up by radio receivers. But everyone would go nuts if we had to be that precise and always talk about "radio receivers" as such. Instead we take a shortcut and call radio receivers, radio transmitters and radio transceivers as "a radio" or "radios". The context matters in these cases. – MichaelK Feb 07 '18 at 15:33
  • @MichaelK Words change meanings over time. I was not aware that in English, one can say "play on the radio" (of a car) when it's played off a local recording without involving the radio receiver. I learned something today, and I added the "radio" in a car definition to wiktionary. – gerrit Feb 07 '18 at 15:34
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is due to a misunderstanding of the English language word "radio" (in a car). – gerrit Feb 07 '18 at 15:37
  • So in the context of a car we know that "the car radio" refers to the system in the Roadster that is able to receive radio transmissions and also perform additional functions, such as repeatedly playing a particular pre-recorded tune. It would not surprise me in the least if this car's entertainment system was reprogrammed with special firmware to 1) display "Don't Panic" on the screen 2) start playing "Space Oddity", both probably when receiving a specific cue by radio transmission or — even more likely — cable from the second stage adapter that held the car in place. – MichaelK Feb 07 '18 at 15:38

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It's the car's standard stereo system (colloquially called "radio" because it includes a radio receiver) playing a music track. It's neither receiving nor broadcasting anything.

Portable/in-car sound systems are often called "radio" because the first such systems had only one source: a radio receiver. Later on, more functions were added, but the name stuck. More accurate names are available.

Hobbes
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    So articles calling it a radio are wrong? – gerrit Feb 07 '18 at 14:59
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    A "radio" in a car is no longer just a "radio" in the technical sense of the word. See MichealK's comment above. It's probably playing from a USB stick or something without moving parts. – JPhi1618 Feb 07 '18 at 15:15
  • It is not possible to both include a radio receiver and neither receiving nor broadcasting anything. The radio may not be used when a track of a storage media is played. – Uwe Feb 07 '18 at 15:35
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    Yes it is. My car stereo has 4 sources: CD, tuner, aux in and USB. When I select one of CD, aux, USB, the radio does not magically disappear. – Hobbes Feb 07 '18 at 15:36