Tesla is creating an App Store, but it's not what you think

According to Sawyer Merritt and Teslascope, Tesla is in active development of an app store for its vehicles. The app store is rumored to be released before the first Cybertrucks are delivered.

Concept designer DeleetDesigns has even designed what a Tesla app store could look like.

What a Tesla app store can look like

DeleetDesigns

Having a Tesla app store is certainly an interesting concept, and I certainly believe Tesla is working on one, but it may not be what you think it is.

The concept by DeleetDesigns is well-executed and it brings some interesting ideas to the table like letting you charge items to your Tesla account.

However, it leads us to believe that a Tesla app store will be similar to Apple's or Google's versions.

I'm not sure apps like Burger King, Slack, Twitter, and others are great candidates for the Tesla app store.

There are only about 2 million Teslas. While it's certainly impressive what Tesla has been able to accomplish, that's only about 0.0016% of all the active iPhones in the world. What this means is that developers wouldn't put as much money and time into their Tesla app versions. And after they're developed, they'll quickly fall behind their smartphone counterparts.

Tesla could avoid this issue by letting users run Android apps, similar to how you could run Andorid apps on some Chromebooks, but most of these apps don't scale well to larger screens, especially a 15 or 17-inch screen.

It'll always be easier to scroll through something like Twitter on your phone than it is on a screen that's an arm's length away from you. It's also more convenient to type on a phone than it is to peck at an on-screen keyboard.

What We Think the Tesla App Store Will Be

We know that Tesla is working on an app store, and here's what we think it'll be like.

Instead of being an app store similar to Apple's that allows developers to make any kind of app, we think Tesla will be limiting the apps to the ones that are well suited for use in a car.

It's expensive to create the framework required to create an app store, especially one that allows apps to be as versatile as phone apps are today. Why should Tesla go through all that work for developers to create apps that few people will use?

How often do find yourself wanting to use your TV instead of your smartphone? Even for some video apps like TikTok, it doesn't make a lot of sense. It's just easier to swipe on your phone.

Many set-top boxes can run all sorts of apps, but most people don't want to shop on Amazon or browser Facebook on their TV.

Instead, they want to use their TV for apps that can provide an experience their phone isn't able to. Apps that allow them to stream video on a larger screen, like Netflix, or exercise with apps like Peloton or Apple Fitness+, or maybe even share a slideshow for the family. What we're not doing is responding to emails or Slack messages on the TV, or even looking at stock quotes. That kind of stuff is much more suited for a phone.

Although Tesla has one of the best infotainment systems of any vehicle, it can't compete with a device that you upgrade every few years. A device that has a faster connection, higher resolution screen, more storage, easier payment authentication, and a faster processor.

A Tesla app will be successful when can leverage the benefits a Tesla can provide over your phone; a bigger screen and integration with your Tesla.

Tesla won't bother creating APIs for developers to build apps that aren't well suited for a Tesla.

Instead, Tesla will focus their efforts on building developer tools that will allow anyone to create apps that will excel in a Tesla. These apps will be for things such as SiriusXM and Apple Music. It could be video streaming apps like YouTube TV and Amazon Prime Video.

These apps will integrate seamlessly into your Tesla UI, just like DeleetDesigns illustrates in his concept.

What if Tesla had an app store? I put together this prototype to see what it might be like. What apps would you want to see?

cc/ @tesla @elonmusk @Teslarati @ElectrekCo @InsideEVs pic.twitter.com/gPCD05JIvO

— CHROME DELEET (@deleetdesign) February 16, 2022

The Tesla app store would let developers port additional games to Teslas as well, giving owners even more gaming options.

Creating an app store will be a huge win for Tesla. There are a lot of entertainment options out there and Tesla can't keep up with all the latest streaming services.

By creating an app store and APIs for developers, Tesla can offload the development of these apps to other companies. It'll allow companies like Apple to create Apple Music for your Tesla, it'll allow SiriusXM can create a streaming SiriusXM app. This will free up Tesla's engineers' time and give owners the apps they're looking for.

Most Teslas have relatively small hard drives, so they're not capable of storing apps endless amounts of video streaming apps and games. By creating an app store, users could install only the apps and games that are relevant to them. This will help free up space taken up games or apps the owner may not use today.

To run apps similar to our smartphones and tablets, Teslas would require a more capable processor than the one used in most Teslas. It'd likely only be available for Teslas with MCU 3, which would exclude almost all Teslas manufactured so far.

However, if the app store was limited to games, video, and audio streaming apps, then it could be available for MCU 2 vehicles as well.

All of the video streaming apps in Teslas today are just full-screen versions of the app's website. Having developers create native experiences for Netflix, YouTube and others would make these apps much more responsive than they are today.

We know that Tesla is creating an app store that will likely be released in the coming year. The app store will benefit Tesla and Tesla owners alike, but we may have to alter our expectations of what a Tesla app store will be.

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Elon Musk Takes Over Tesla Sales For North America and Europe

Not a Tesla App

Following the recent departure of longtime deputy Omead Afshar, Elon Musk has stepped up to personally oversee Tesla’s sales operations in North America and Europe, according to a new report from Bloomberg, which cites people familiar with the matter.

This is a big shake-up that places Elon directly in charge of fixing Tesla’s sales slump in two key markets. The move has come as Tesla reported nearly on-the-ball deliveries for Q2 2025, hitting 384k deliveries, against a consensus street estimate of 385k deliveries.

New Leadership Structure

According to the report, Afshar’s former responsibilities are being divided between Elon and Senior VP Tom Zhu. Elon will now directly oversee the sales organizations in the US and Europe. As part of this change, Troy Jones, Tesla’s VP of North America Sales, will now report to Elon.

Tom Zhu, who is based in China, will continue to manage sales in Asia while also taking on the critical new responsibility of overseeing global manufacturing operations. Leadership of Tesla’s factories in Fremont, California, and Texas will now report to Tom. Tesla Energy’s factories will still report to Michael Snyder, VP of Energy and Charging.

For now, we’re unsure whether this is a temporary management structure, if the reporting lines will shift, or if Tesla will either hire or promote a new Senior VP of Sales to cover the duties.

Tackling the Sales Slump

The restructuring is a response to the recent downturn in sales. Analysts estimated that Tesla would deliver approximately 385k vehicles, which they essentially managed to achieve. However, deliveries fell short of production numbers, with Tesla delivering just 373k of the 410k vehicles produced.

This situation is particularly challenging in Central Europe. Europe has been noted as Tesla’s weakest market, according to Elon. Interestingly, Elon previously stated in several interviews over the last few months that there was no demand issue, but it now seems that there have been some issues with growing sales.

With Tesla’s new vehicle registrations across Europe having plunged 37% since the start of this year, and the rollout of the new affordable model, as well as more affordable versions of the Model 3 and Model Y seemingly delayed, there is a lot to do. Some analysts are projecting a second consecutive annual decline in Tesla’s global car sales for 2025.

The Rise of Tom Zhu

A key note in this reshuffle is the return of Tom Zhu to a top global operations role. Tom had previously led the construction and ramp-up of Giga Shanghai and was then promoted to Senior VP of Automotive Operations in 2023. Last year, he was sent back to China to focus on tackling regulatory hurdles with the launch of FSD in China.

His return to overseeing global manufacturing, even while staying in China, is a significant vote of confidence in his abilities. It also comes as Chinese authorities have begun drafting new autonomy guidelines to clear a path for the broader rollout of both Supervised and potentially Unsupervised FSD.

Wrap Up

This major restructuring shows that Elon is once again focused on Tesla and plans to personally tackle the company’s biggest issues. This will require a careful hand, as Elon’s forays into politics have caused self-admitted brand damage. If anyone can turn this around and have the Model Y return as the Best-Selling Vehicle of 2026, having just missed out by a few thousand vehicles to the Toyota RAV4, it is Elon.

Alongside him, Tom Zhu will be responsible for streamlining global manufacturing and ensuring that Tesla is ready to launch their new affordable variants in the near future, which should also make a considerable dent in sales.

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Tesla Shares Q2 2025 Numbers: Production and Deliveries Up Over Last Quarter

Not a Tesla App

Tesla has released its Q2 2025 production and delivery numbers, revealing an improvement in production and deliveries over Q1, but still down from a year ago.

Tesla produced 410,244 vehicles in Q2, nearly equal to their production a year ago, which was 410,831 vehicles. Production for this quarter was significantly up compared to Q1 2025, which only saw 362,615 vehicles produced. While production numbers matched those of a year ago, actual deliveries were down.

Q2 2025 saw Tesla deliver 384,122 vehicles, which was down approximately 59,000 units compared to the same period last year, but up by approximately 48,000 vehicles, or about 14% compared to Q1.

Breakdown by Model

The Model 3/Y segment continues to dominate Tesla’s production profile, accounting for 396,835 units produced and 373,728 delivered in Q2 2025. Deliveries for the “Other Models” category—which includes the Cybertruck, Model S, and Model X—were down compared to the previous quarter, with just 10,394 vehicles delivered, a 20% decline. Compared to a year ago, the drop for these vehicles is even more drastic, with sales being down 52%. Tesla refreshed its Model S and Model X last month with new features; however, the update was much smaller than expected and likely didn’t help much in increasing sales for these vehicles.

Tesla doesn’t break down Cybertruck sales separately, but those deliveries are expected to be down as well.

Tesla noted that 2% of total deliveries this quarter were accounted for under operating lease agreements, consistent with the same quarter last year.

Context and Market Response

While the numbers exceeded some bearish expectations, the year-over-year delivery drop is Tesla’s second straight quarterly decline. Analysts attribute declining sales to increasing EV competition and reputation issues.

Still, investors found relief in the improved quarter when compared to Q1. The stock rebounded about 4% yesterday on the news.

Looking ahead, all eyes are on Tesla’s Robotaxi network, the Cybercab, and the more affordable model, which is slated to be released later this year.

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