Using the Telsa app on iPhone, Tesla owners are able to subscribe to the automaker’s Premium Connectivity package that unlocks a handful of features for $9.99 per month. A new report from Gizmodo, however, points out that Tesla isn’t using Apple’s In-App Purchase system for this subscription… and it probably should be.
The Tesla Premium Connectivity subscription unlocks a range of features, such as in-car navigation with traffic data, video streaming music and video, and more. These features, however, are accessible only via Tesla’s in-car display, which means Tesla wouldn’t be required to use App Store billing if the package only unlocked these features.
But there’s one relatively-recent addition to Tesla’s Premium Connectivity package: “View Live Camera.” This feature allows Tesla owners to view a live feed of their car’s cameras when the vehicle is parked and Sentry Mode is enabled.
As today’s report from Gizmodo points out, a feature like this technically falls within Apple’s guidelines for when an app must offer the option to subscribe via native In-App Purchase billing.
Apple’s App Store guidelines for the In-App Purchase system specifically address this kind of scenario. Apple’s “Hardware-Specific Content” policy says, “App features that work in combination with an approved physical product (such as a toy) on an optional basis may unlock functionality without using in-app purchase, provided that an in-app purchase option is available as well.”
The Tesla app on iPhone gives users the ability to subscribe to Premium Connectivity, but only using Tesla’s own billing system. As per the “Hardware-Specific Content” guideline, Tesla is free to offer its own billing system so long as Apple In-App Purchase billing is also an option; but in the Tesla app, it’s not.
What this means is that Tesla is skirting Apple’s App Store fees, which start at 15% for developers making under $1 million per year and increase to 30% for developers making over $1 million.
Elon Musk has been a big critic of Apple’s App Store guidelines in the past, referring to the “secret” App Store fee as “like having a 30% tax on the Internet.” He has also expressed his support for Epic Games, which is currently embroiled in a years-long legal battle with Apple over App Store rules.
One thing to keep in mind, however, is that all apps submitted to the App Store undergo a review process. It seems like Tesla’s failure to use In-App Purchase hasn’t caught Apple’s attention so far… but that could certainly change now that the news is making headlines.
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