Um, yes they would (in other cases). I have a TuneIn account and only half the time hear "Something you may have missed" instead of ads for TuneIn, when listening to CNN for example.
I think we're nit-picking here and
missing the streaming service revenue. Just like with where Superchargers are placed and who pays*, the increasing volume Teslas provide to YouTube, TuneIn, NetFlix and others -
whether paying customers or not - is worth something to Google, NetFlix and the like. Those providers gain customers by making their apps available in Tesla (I wouldn't pay for a TuneIn account otherwise), and who are we to ignore what that compensation may be to Tesla? Maybe they get compensation via AT&T or maybe directly from the providers (to your point,
@jerry33 ) - who knows? We're guessing here. I suspect Tesla is making "some" profit from the streaming services over and above the cost for connectivity, but I don't think we can say for sure. And we also can't ignore that Tesla's unparalleled infotainment may be a compelling reason a minority buy a Tesla vs. another car - it all counts.
We all know features Tesla has
removed because their data indicates it wasn't valuable enough (e.g. passenger lumbar). They continue to
add infotainment features (gaming, Apple+, more speakers) and nobody would suggest they're doing this without data to back up how valuable it contributes to the bottom line.
*
Does Tesla pay to have a Supercharger in this
parking lot vs. that
parking lot, or does the mall pay to gain regular, wealthy patrons with nothing to do for half an hour?
