Please Create an app store!!!

[rw86347]

I am an app developer and I would love to start writing apps for Tesla owners.

For example I would love to write tourist apps for elderly. This would allow older people who are stuck at home to get in their autonomous car and take a tour of historic cities. I could tell them history, and take them to restaurants and to hotels to meet other owners.

I would also love a sonos app.

ETC...

 

[wayner]

This concept died a while back from Tesla and Elon talked about some sort of emulation of your phone screen.

 

[rw86347]

This concept died a while back from Tesla and Elon talked about some sort of emulation of your phone screen.

That is how I would do it.

 

[Reeler]

Screen mirroring support for iOS and Android are now standard features expected on high tech cars. Tesla needs to support it too.

 

[pnd4pnd]

That is how I would do it.

Elon is way too focused on autonomous driving to ever give us something useful like this (unlike autopilot)...

 

[bob_p]

Unfortunately... In order to support 3rd party apps running in the car, the software environment would have to be designed to provide a "safe zone" where the apps could run without risking the apps adversely impacting the rest of the software. Unless this is designed into the software system from the beginning, it's unlikely Tesla would be able to add this later - unless they decided to scrap all of the existing software and implement a "version 2" (which probably wouldn't be a bad idea).

Even Tesla's current apps seem to have problems interacting with each other. Some of the issues with the media player may be caused by interference from other software running on the console processor - which would explain the pops and gaps that sometimes happens when playing music - when the music player software could be interrupted by something else running on the same processor.

What seems more likely is that Tesla would implement a screen mirroring solution (Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, or other) that would have the app run on a separate processor (smartphone) and the only access to Tesla's processor would be very limited to display, audio and possibly a few well-defined functions.

Since we haven't heard any rumors about this for a while, it could be that Tesla is focused on other areas - and this isn't viewed as a high enough priority to allocate resources. Though, it's also possible this could be outsourced to a 3rd party partner - and Tesla might surprise us with something, especially before the Model 3 is released, and Tesla has a lower priced vehicle to compete with the Chevy Bolt (which already has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto).

 

[rw86347]

I would use the same simulators that Android Studio already uses. This would create a sandbox that would prevent hacking, because you would be running on a virtual cell phone.

 

[Reeler]

I bet there would be some amazing apps built if Tesla harnessed the tech-savvy buyer's enthusiasm.

There are ways to firewall apps from the car functions. I don't think that is a valid reason to not do it. I think Tesla is more concerned with features that grab headlines and entice buyers (e.g., glass roof, autonomy).

It takes a few weeks of ownership before one realizes how sucky the nav unit is.

 

[HumanGenome]

I don't trust any third party app developer controlling my vehicle.

That's not just limited to the 17" screen.. any apps or mapping websites that require MyTesla credentials I do not use.

Liability, hacking, use of GPS data, etc.. it's just not going to happen any time soon.

 

[Reeler]

Toyota, Nissan, Ford and probably others have third party apps. Almost all new tech cars support iOS and Android mirroring so @HumanGenome will soon have no choice.

 

[AudubonB]

We, too, have been developing app-concepts to encompass various features both of Tesla and of advanced automobiles in general. As an investor in TM, I am slightly frustrated and modestly fearful of recalcitrance on Tesla's part leading to an unnecessary gap that other automakers can utilize to gain a compelling market advantage.

You can't blame competitors for walking through a door...when you're holding it open for them.

 

[u00mem9]

CarPlay and android auto (not sure name)

It's absurd we don't have it yet and it would be absurd to be planning any other solution...like the v8.0 media player redo ! Facepalm

 

[RichardL]

CarPlay and android auto (not sure name)

I was under the impression that both of these simply allow the car to display and utilize a small subset of apps running on the phone. Do they permit additional apps to be installed on the phone and mirrored in the car? Do they provide access to the various information (such as vehicle location, status, speed, state of charge)? Do they allow me to play 200+ GB of 24/192 FLACs which I can right now.

If so, then they would be a good addition, otherwise allowing 3rd party apps running in the car, or simply improving the pre-installed apps would provide better functionality. IMHO

 

[Gizmotoy]

I was under the impression that both of these simply allow the car to display and utilize a small subset of apps running on the phone. Do they permit additional apps to be installed on the phone and mirrored in the car? Do they provide access to the various information (such as vehicle location, status, speed, state of charge)? Do they allow me to play 200+ GB of 24/192 FLACs which I can right now.

If so, then they would be a good addition, otherwise allowing 3rd party apps running in the car, or simply improving the pre-installed apps would provide better functionality. IMHO

Mixed bag for you, I think:

• I was under the impression that both of these simply allow the car to display and utilize a small subset of apps running on the phone. Correct. Applications must choose to support them (and at least in the iOS case be approved by Apple), so apps aren't usable by default.
• Do they permit additional apps to be installed on the phone and mirrored in the car? Yes
• Do they provide access to the various information (such as vehicle location, status, speed, state of charge)? No, but only that last one really requires the car anyway.
• Do they allow me to play 200+ GB of 24/192 FLACs which I can right now. Yes. Well, Android Auto does, anyway. Apple doesn't support FLAC and I don't believe there's any CarPlay-approved music applications that do.

Elon promised 3rd party apps via some kind of sandboxed Android layer by the end of 2014, but kind of backpedalled. Presumably the resources were allocated to Autopilot instead. Last last year or sometime this year he mentioned they were considering a mirroring option, but that's trouble too. In most states it's illegal to mirror video to a display visible from the front seats, and both Android's and iOS's mirroring solutions permit video.

So there's no good news on this front.

 

[dmode]

This is sorely needed. Both CarPlay/Android Auto and a Tesla specific app store. There would be certain apps that should only be applicable to Tesla, those could be available on the Tesla store and generic apps like Spotify and Pandora would be available via CarPlay. I understand that Tesla has chosen to prioritize Autopilot development, but I feel this is a low hanging fruit that would make most customers happy. Very soon, people would expect integrated Apple or Android support as a basic feature

 

[bob_p]

The 3rd party app store was promised before the first Model S was delivered - and was a "coming soon" during the first few years. Since then, the only mention was that some "screen mirroring" solution would be provided - and nothing has been discussed recently.

3rd party apps can only be allowed to run if they are enclosed within a firewall that prevents them from impacting the critical operations of the car. Since the console processor has access to the rest of the car's operations, that means there has to be a software environment built that makes it impossible for 3rd party apps to access those functions, except in a very tightly controlled way.

From a software standpoint, unless this has been designed into the software from the beginning, it is extremely difficult to add this capability later, without doing massive rewrites on all of the existing software. Unless Tesla plans to essentially redo the software running on the console processor, it seems highly unlikely we'll ever see the promised 3rd party app store.

Screen mirroring is different (this includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto). The apps don't run on the console processor, instead the console processor is tasked only with providing limited access for display, audio and user interaction. Tesla could provide some limited access to a few non-critical functions (such as current vehicle location). While this isn't as good as having native apps running on the car's processor, we're more likely to see this solution because it provides more security (Tesla only has to provide protection from the screen mirroring software - not from the individual 3rd party apps) and it also provides owners with access to a much larger library of apps to run.

Now that the Bolts are being delivered with ACP and AA, and with the Model 3 going into production next year, this would seem like a good time for Tesla to indicate their plans in this area - and show they will have something comparable to the Bolt in the Model 3 (and S/X).

Though... Tesla does have a significant differentiator with EAP/FSD - a feature that Chevy is not providing in the Bolt. And, Tesla could believe that capability is more compelling than having screen mirroring.

 

[Randaddy]

How are current iterations of acp and aa implemented in other manufacturers? The current/previous Bluetooth hardware would be the most universal interface, but bandwidth limitations may impact the apps ability to stream hit bitrate media like FLAC and video.

Also current/past builds aren't likely to USB 3.0, so this limits what can be implemented via USB.

WiFi screen mirroring like google/miracast/airplay would be cool, and possibly implemented via software universally?

 

[tliving]

Just start building it, many have. There are probably a dozen phone apps, several watch apps and many websites using the unofficial Tesla API and others. Some are also designed to run on the (very limited) browser inside the car which I know from personal experience can be difficult to develop/debug for.

 

[busaman]

this might be a stupid question but i want to install a couple of alternative charging apps that i have on my phone to my model s if possible but from what i have been reading above i cant and will have to save it to the cars browser and open them from there or is there a way of installing them in the app screen or at least a shortcut to them linking from the browser...

 

[tliving]

this might be a stupid question but i want to install a couple of alternative charging apps that i have on my phone to my model s if possible but from what i have been reading above i cant and will have to save it to the cars browser and open them from there or is there a way of installing them in the app screen or at least a shortcut to them linking from the browser...

You can bookmark pages in the web browser for sites/apps that support that. But you can't install any apps in the car. Just web sites that may or may not work with the car browser. EVtripping.com has been designed to work in the Tesla browser, but not all apps are (and it's a pain to do so).