Some informed sources revealed that Tesla may be developing an app store similar to Apple. It will allow car owners to download and install apps by themselves. Of course, with this, Tesla wants to imitate Apple or Android smartphone operations, creating a software and hardware ecological chain of Tesla’s own brand.
In December last year, after the Tesla car interface was upgraded to the latest V11 version, a customizable icon bar appeared at the bottom of the touchscreen in the car. It caused a stir and led to speculation that Elon Musk would announce plans for the app store during his latest earnings call in late January. However, that didn’t happen.
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Tesla investor Sawyer Merritt retweeted a video of the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs introducing the App Store. He also wrote a post hinting at the upcoming Tesla app store.
Rumor has it something similar is coming soon to something with four wheels that starts with a T 👀 https://t.co/qBGPzZpbdE
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) February 5, 2022
The tweet was quickly retweeted by Teslascope, a Twitter account with the same name as the Tesla travel-tracking app. The account once posted: ” The rumor is out!
Tesla has been working on their own “App Store” since around May 2021 and will launch before deliveries of the Cybertruck.
This is what we expected to be shared during the earnings call, although @elonmusk did share this would be the year of “software”.
If Tesla releases an App Store for their vehicles, what 3rd party apps would you like to see?@elonmusk https://t.co/EgBg6HTyzq
— Dave Lee (@heydave7) February 6, 2022
Musk once said in the financial report: “Whether it is in the car or in terms of factories, Tesla is both a software company and a hardware company, but that’s not widely understood.”
The “year of software” claim may be a reference to Musk’s comments on Tesla’s Q4 2021 earnings call when he said that the Full Self-Driving (FSD) software would create “the biggest increase in asset value of any asset class in history.” Tesla Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn agrees. “With the rapid development of FSD, software-based profits will ultimately become a strong addition to the profits generated by selling hardware,” and that, “ the software portion of the business, I think, is the one to really pay attention to.”
If Tesla launches an app store, it could add another interesting aspect to the pioneering electric brand, which pioneered the concept of “software on wheels” in its line of electric vehicles, industry experts say.
Of course, this would become another revenue stream for Tesla. However, it wouldn’t be identical to the likes of Volvo and Polestar. They have integrated Android Automotive into their EVs. So for their users, it’s possible to access vehicle-specific apps via Google Play Store.
