Tesla has unveiled its API pricing for third-party apps, and one developer estimates that operating their third-party Tesla app under the new pricing model would cost an astounding $60 million annually.
After years of functioning in a gray area without an official API, Tesla third-party apps received official API documentation for the first time late last year, providing a structured interface to communicate with Tesla’s services.
The official API is currently focused on fleet management, but developers initially saw it as a potential stepping stone toward fostering a robust Tesla third-party app ecosystem.
Today, Tesla has released usage pricing for its Fleet API, and it is shocking many app developers:
Tesla’s API documentation includes a cost estimation calculator based on signals, commands, and data requirements.
While these figures might not resonate with all users, the developer of Tessie, a third-party Tesla analytics and automation app, shared on Reddit that operating the app under Tesla’s new pricing model would amount to approximately $60 million annually in API fees.
“I’ll owe Tesla around $60 million per year using the current rate.”
The $60 million annual API cost estimate for the Tessie app is based on its 400,000 reported Tesla driver users, making it clear that Tesla’s pricing model creates an unsustainable environment for third-party developers.
Fortunately, Tessie’s developer noted a workaround by bypassing the API and relying on “direct car communication over IP and BLE.”
Tesla’s recent rollout of its own fleet management features could be driving this shift, potentially diminishing the role of third-party apps in the ecosystem.
Tyler Corsair, founder of the Teslascope app, shared that Tesla’s new API pricing would increase their costs to 7.5 times the app’s monthly revenue. Other developers have indicated they may face even greater challenges under the new pricing structure. This move has raised concerns about the viability of many third-party Tesla apps.
