The individual who serves as Vice President of Government Affairs at conservative talk and Christian-themed non-secular spoken word-focused Salem Media Group is urging both legislative and consumer action in response to Tesla‘s decision to remove both AM and FM radio from its base Model 3 and Model Y vehicle trims.
Nic Anderson is the latest to publicly defend the medium’s place in the in-dash OEM vehicle entertainment system. And, he did so in an op-ed for Townhall, the conservative news, political analysis and commentary hub acquired by Salem in 2006.
While Tesla’s controversial decision to remove an AM/FM tuner from the two 2026 model trims was noted by Anderson, he also criticized General Motors’ decision to phase out the commonly used Apple CarPlay and Android Auto app. “Lawmakers need to pass the [AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act]. And the public needs to push back,” Anderson wrote.
The company’s Inside the Beltway advocate argues that the removal of AM and FM tuners from dashboards marks more than just a technological transition, calling it an erosion of public access. “For generations, the car radio has been the great equalizer: free, local, and open to all,” he said. “But as vehicles become software platforms, automakers are rewriting the rules.”
The risk, Anderson said, isn’t only commercial, as the AM band “remains the backbone of America’s Emergency Alert System – reaching 272 million listeners every week.” Current and former FEMA administrators and first responders across America have already echoed that call, urging Congress to protect AM radio as a matter of national safety.
Salem Media Group, like peers including iHeartMedia, is particularly overexposed compared to other radio station licensees for their collection of AM radio stations. Markets where Salem has no FM presence include Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, Seattle, Riverside-San Bernardino, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago, and the nation’s largest market — New York.
For Salem, Anderson’s argument reaches beyond emergency use. He describes AM and FM radio as democracy’s “most accessible platform,” one that provides local news, faith-based programming, language diversity, agricultural reports, and community coverage that streaming platforms don’t replicate. “These aren’t premium features available to subscribers,” he wrote. “They’re free, open, and available to anyone with a radio – until automakers decide they’re not.”
Anderson also warns that the growing influence of technology companies in the automotive space risks turning the dashboard into a “walled garden,” where automakers and their digital partners dictate what content can and cannot be accessed. “This isn’t about innovation,” he said. “It’s about revenue and control.”
— Additional reporting by Adam Jacobson
