Tesla’s API pricing shift may cost a third-party developer $60 million annually to maintain their app, potentially disrupting the ecosystem.
After years of operating in a gray area without an official API, Tesla’s third-party apps have finally gained access to official API documentation, a gateway to seamless communication with their services, as of late last year.
Currently focused on fleet management, the initiative may serve as a foundation for developing a comprehensive Tesla third-party app ecosystem in the future.
With the recent introduction of utilization-based pricing for its Fleet API, Tesla is leaving industry players stunned.
Tesla offers a comprehensive value estimation calculator that leverages various benchmarks, guidelines, and data requirements.
While the financial implications may not seem substantial to everyone, the developer behind the Tessie app – a third-party Tesla analytics and automation platform – has publicly disclosed its concerns on Reddit. According to him, running the app under the current pricing model could result in API charges totalling approximately $60 million.
“I’ll incur a yearly liability of approximately $60 million based on current market valuations.”
Approximately 400,000 Tesla owners are leveraging the app.
While unsustainable pricing may appear to be a dead-end, the developer offers a creative solution by abandoning the API and leveraging “direct vehicle communication over IP and BLE,” potentially circumventing this hurdle.
Tesla has also rolled out its own fleet management tools, casting a shadow over third-party app development efforts that were previously gaining traction with the move.
Tyler Corsair, founder of Teslascope and a prominent Tesla third-party app developer, notes that their new API pricing plan could significantly boost the app’s monthly revenue by approximately 750%. In comparison to their colleagues, these developers do not appear to be among the most poorly situated.
Electrek’s Take
Paying tribute to a pivotal moment on Reddit last year, where the platform’s API pricing update inadvertently led to the demise of several popular third-party apps, outshining even its own mobile application’s popularity at the time.
It’s unfortunate to witness Tesla’s recent decisions aligning with this direction.
This update may potentially disrupt certain auxiliary software applications. While some may adapt to the change, others might feel compelled to concede in the face of what appears to be a hostile takeover by Tesla against third-party applications.
What do you suppose? Tell us within the remark part beneath.
