Tesla’s music streaming service pops up in software update
Tesla has continued its foray into safe, eco-friendly and autonomous electric vehicles of late, as well as moves into the solar roof, municipal energy station and home-based power markets. Last month, however, was rumored that the energy company was in talks with major music labels to create a proprietary streaming service it could bundle with its cars. It looks like the reports were true, as a reader of website Electrek has found a spot for a new app, TTunes, in Tesla’s most recent auto software update.
This doesn’t mean that you’ll have a new music service in your Tesla automobile anytime soon, of course. Electrek’s Fred Lambert points out that last year, Tesla owners found a Spotify app in the code, but the feature did not appear in US or Canadian autos. Tesla’s cars already have a built-in streaming service powered by Slacker that includes a company sponsored DJ station. According to him, a branded streaming service (Tesla Tunes?) tied to the company’s electric vehicles would only make sense if the auto maker can scale its car fleet up quickly and/or offer it as a freebie to current and future owners.
When reached for comment, a Tesla spokesperson referred us to an earlier statement on the matter: “We believe 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. Our goal is to simply achieve maximum happiness for our customers.”
Update: Elon Musk responded to the discovery with a tweet, calling TTunes a “joke.” Whatever the purpose of the code is, at least it’s not one more streaming service for us to subscribe to.
Tesla does not really have “TTunes”. That’s a joke.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 26, 2017
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