Tesla Likely To Soon Add HBO, Twitch, & More — Vehicle Code Spotted

Twitch, HBO, Comedy Central and several other streaming apps may be coming soon to Tesla’s in-car entertainment systems. This news comes from Twitter user @Greentheonly, who is well known in the Teslasphere for his hacking mojo (i.e., for hacking into the code behind Tesla’s vehicle touchscreens and routinely checking for new interesting code). He recently noticed something different — new infotainment options should be around the corner.

Elon Musk doesn’t just make electric cars (or rockets or dig tunnels). He does something that some businesses and companies struggle with: he creates an experience based on what it seems people want, not based on what others in the industry are offering, and he is continuously improving that experience with Tesla’s top-tier team of software engineers. Traditional auto companies create a product that does a handful of things for the customer, and then the car is done and static for the remainder of their ownership. Boom, done. Tesla is never done. It’s always updating. There are always new features being added, and Elon is always open to suggestions via Twitter. (Direct market research, crowdsourcing, tweeting with customers — call it what you want, but it’s clear that Elon collects a lot of ideas directly from owners and future owners on Twitter.)

In 2017, Elon tweeted the above tweet about the deep history of Tesla and pointed out that even though it was almost certain to fail, the only chance to keep EVs relevant was to create an EV company. However, doing that hard work of creating a 100% EV experience is what kept Tesla alive during the dark times, and it’s what brings Tesla owners together on and offline. It’s an experience that is sharable and enables connection with others — the human kind of connection.

But back to the tech connectivity. Thanks to Tesla’s new Premium Connectivity service, for only $10 a month Tesla owners can access high-speed internet to stream these services and more, which help keep the on-the-go Tesla owner entertained while they are at a Supercharger or parked elsewhere.

It’s a brilliant way to encourage others to switch to driving electric and help the environment in the process. Tesla continues to be the leader in the industry and sets the bar pretty high. How long will it take others to follow on these features?