Tesla releases API pricing, dev says would cost $60 million per year to run his 3rd-party app- looki – Luxury cars

Tesla has launched API pricing for third-party apps and this developer says that it might value them $60 million per 12 months to run their third-party Tesla app below these new pricing.

After years of working in a grey zone with out an official API, which is an interface to speak with a service, Tesla third-party apps lastly bought official API documentation late final 12 months.

It’s presently geared towards fleet administration, however builders hoped it might be step one towards making a wholesome Tesla third-party app ecosystem.

At this time, Tesla has launched utilization pricing for its Fleet API, and it’s stunning many app builders:

Tesla included a value estimation calculator based mostly on totally different alerts, instructions, and knowledge wants.

It doesn’t imply a lot to me, however the developer of the Tessie app, a third-party Tesla analytics and automation app, used it and stated on Reddit that it might value about $60 million in API charges to run his app below this pricing mannequin:

“I’ll owe Tesla round $60 million per 12 months utilizing present charge.”

That’s with 400,000 Tesla drivers reportedly utilizing the app.

Clearly, that’s not a sustainable pricing surroundings, however fortuitously, the developer says that he can get round it by dropping the API and utilizing “direct automotive communication over IP and BLE.”

Tesla has additionally been releasing its personal fleet administration options recently, which may clarify this transfer, which throws some chilly water on third-party apps.

Tyler Corsair, the founding father of Teslascope, one other Tesla third-party app, added that their new API value would add as much as about 7.5 occasions the app’s month-to-month income. Based on another devs, they don’t seem to be even amongst the worst positioned.

Electrek’s Take

That is harking back to a scenario Reddit had final 12 months when it additionally up to date its API pricing, which resulted in killing some common third-party apps that had turn out to be extra common than Reddit’s personal cell app.

It’s unhappy to see Tesla going that method.

It’ll possible kill some helpful third-party apps. Luckily, it does sound like some will be capable of work round it, however I wouldn’t be stunned to see some surrender amid what will be perceived as an hostile transfer from Tesla towards third-party apps.

What do you assume? Tell us within the remark part under.