Elon Musk’s Tesla plans to launch its own music streaming service: Report

Details are scarce so far. The decision to launch a music streaming service appears to be an odd decision. In Europe, for instance, Tesla already has a deal with Spotify. Previous reports in the past have claimed that Tesla might integrate Spotify into its US cars.

The move may surprise many though, Elon Musk has always been known for being unpredictable.  Musk wouldn’t be interested in integrating Spotify or Apple Music into its electric cars, which already come with a radically designed dashboard coupled with a touchscreen and internet connectivity.

Business Insider noted that Musk touched upon the subject earlier this month during a meeting with shareholders. He evidently wants to explore more options as he finds it “difficult to find good playlist or good matching algorithm”.

If we look at the numbers, both Spotify and Apple Music are popular music streaming services with 50 million and 27 million paid subscribers, respectively.  Spotify recently reported that it has over 140 million active subscribers, making it the most popular music streaming service.

Tesla, which has sold  over 100,000 cars till date, may find it difficult to convince drivers to use its own streaming service over Spotify or Apple Music for which they are already paying. In order to create a custom music streaming service, Tesla needs to integrate the service tightly with its cars. Also, it has to offer something new that differentiates it from the competition.