Tesla is reportedly exploring the idea of launching its own music streaming service to bundle with its electric cars.
It’s a brave outfit that dives into the ultra-competitive music streaming game at this stage, but that’s exactly what Tesla is reportedly planning on doing.
You read that right — Tesla, the automaker created by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, is in talks with music labels about a plan to bundle a streaming service with its electric cars, sources in the music industry told Recode this week.
The apparent ambition may surprise many, though Musk didn’ t get to where he is today by sitting on his hands and saying, “That’s just not possible.” Sources said they weren’ t entirely sure about how far Tesla wants to go with its streaming plan, but claimed that the company is exploring the option of offering “multiple tiers of service, starting with a Pandora-like web radio offering.”
Although declining to confirm that it’s in talks with music labels, a Tesla spokesperson told Recode that the company “believes it’s important to have an exceptional in-car experience so our customers can listen to the music they want from whatever source they choose, ” adding that its goal is “to simply achieve maximum happiness for our customers.”
If a music streaming service can offer “maximum happiness” to a user, then we’ re certainly keen to learn more about what Tesla has in mind.
Business Insider noted that Musk touched on the subject of music streaming services earlier this month, telling a meeting of shareholders he was interested in exploring options because it’s hard to find “good playlists or good matching algorithms.” It seems that Spotify’s service, which Tesla actually already integrates into its cars in some of its markets, falls well short for Elon. Ditto for Apple Music.
Of course, for any streaming service launched by Tesla, the challenge would be getting its drivers to switch from competing services for which they’ re already paying. Currently, Spotify has around 50 million paying subscribers, while Apple has some 27 million. A Tesla streaming option would have to offer something special to make it worthwhile, though perhaps the idea is part of a long-term vision involving broader entertainment-based subscription services for future vehicles that are entirely autonomous, leaving riders eager for amusement and diversion as they zip along from A to B. So let’s wait and see if Musk and his crew take this plan forward.
