The programmer who has created a car browser Musk might actually like

For all of Tesla's groundbreaking work advancing digital features in cars, it's still lacking one thing: a decent browser. While the EV maker pioneered over-the-air software updates and equipped its cars with massive touchscreens before rivals, its proprietary in-car browser "sucks," Elon Musk told a Tesla owners' club last year. "It's worse than, like, some iPad from five years ago. Like, by a lot." A European company has developed what it says is among the best alternatives: a browser called Vivaldi running on Google's Android Automotive operating system. Manufacturers including Mercedes-Benz, Renault and Volkswagen's Audi are using it in their models. The browser supports multiple tabs, video conferencing and gaming, setting it apart from more basic offerings like Tesla's. Maybe Vivaldi's most interesting feature is its ad-blocking and tracking protection. While automakers and technology companies have been embroiled in a struggle to control drivers' in-car experiences, Vivaldi Technologies CEO Jon von Tetzchner is adamant that his product is built with privacy in mind. In an interview with Bloomberg in Berlin, von Tetzchner, who also co-developed the Opera mobile-phone browser, flagged tech giants' data collection as a major security problem. He spoke about the future of in-car software and explained why he wants to keep his company private.