Thanks,
@unk45, we agree. Tesla is paid
something for all their app placements.
How much they are paid is - outside of those directly involved in the negotiations - anyone's guess.
And to
@DarthPierce and
@MP3Mike, everything coming through Tesla LTE is digital and creates logs, unlike with analog radio (or TV). Do you really think Tesla is ignoring how many drivers are listening to which services? Don't you think Tesla contracts the providers to pay for those listens / views either incrementally or at least per app install
before adding their app to every Tesla? "It's the data, stupid" (not you, MP3Mike, I just mean, in the digital / Google age,
every online action is tracked, measured, and
paid for one way or another.)
To be clear, it is true we cannot precisely define the amounts tesla makes from these activities, just as we cannot know exactly Supercharger revenue or any other detailed revenue category apart from generalities.
However the subject of revenue from clicks and sales is generically named 'affiliate marketing' because entities are paid for any promotional results they bring. These are analogous to customer referral programs such as the one Tesla provides for us, their customers. As it happens these programs have become institutionalized in the last couple fo deuces so now there are myriad companies around that act as intermediaries, such as the Affiliate Window:
Affiliate marketing is a simple way to earn money online, using our affiliate platform. Join a global community of publishers and advertisers.
www.awin.com
I chose that example because fo the name, not their position in that growing market. We may not know exactly what Tesla gains from, say, Netflix, but we can see what Netflix pays generic affiliates. These, mostly are paid for customer origination, but recently these have expanded to customer retention, primarily because the competition has become overwhelmingly fierce, as many of us know.
In the Tesla case we will probably never know exactly because that revenue will never be material. What may well become material si overall Tesla revenue from subscriptions and services that are non-automotive. In the category we will eventually see is, in Tesla Energy: maintenance fees on Megapacks, VPP revenue, grid services, etc. Then there are Supercharger margins, charging equipment/adapter sales and margins on energy sales. When we add those to more traditional things such as insurance and financing/leasing we know we're much passed materiality. There is no question that our subject of earnings indirectly from cellular-linked referrals, will not be material independently. But, this revenue has nearly zero costs attached so it simply makes high gross margins easier.
In my opinion it is valuable to understand as many of these components as we can because they contribute to the resilience of earnings. As those of us who own AAPL, GOOGL or AMZN for examples, know and understand. The virtuous cycle of subscriptions, collateral services and other services end out being really major factors. Right now those are pretty much the GOOGL profit stream (they call it advertising), and closely related things are AMZN major earnings apart from web services.
I know most people want specific numbers. Those will be precision without accuracy. We should be happy that these sources of income are rising very, very rapidly and are instrumental to create a durable Tesla eco-system, with Supercharging dominance a frontispiece. That lack of specific numbers is probably what analysts ignore it, even with AAPL, because they really cannot understand it. To analysts TSLA is a seller of antiquated cars and AAPL sells cellular phones.
We at TMC really ned to understand the benefits of things that cannot be quantified today just as we holders of AAPL understand that customer retention is an astoundingly great benefit precisely because it reduces the need for grotesquely expensive customer acquisition programs.
Perhaps I'm arguing too much. I do not think so because the efforts to turn Tesla into just another OEM that has broadcast ads is precisely the sort of choice that will destroy shareholder value by unlinking the superb direct marketing that is the core Tesla efficiency advantage other than manufacturing. Not a penny has been spent in publicity to conquer the majority of NA BEV sales to Superchargers. Why waste money when we've just reached nearly there total NA addressible market?
