News that Tesla may launch its own music streaming service was met last week with confusion. But, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas says autonomy will make cars the “4th screen,” therefore it’s not absurd that Tesla would pursue revenue from media.
In a note published Tuesday, Jonas said: “These firms could cede 100 percent of the value of content to the likes of Apple, Alphabet, Pandora, Sirius or Netflix. On the other hand, they could say: ‘Wait a second. This is our venue. Our OLED screen. Our speakers. Our HMI. Our seats. Our software. Let’s at least give the customer a choice of using our own apps before we too quickly go the way of the pure handset manufacturers.'”
Autonomy, he said, will enable drivers to take their hands off the wheel to focus on other activities, including music and video.
According to a report last week from Recode: “Music industry sources say [Tesla] has had talks with all of the major labels about licensing a proprietary music service that would come bundled with its cars, which already come equipped with a high-tech dashboard and internet connectivity.”