# Hey Elon: We need an App Store!



## fritter63 (Nov 9, 2018)

Was just thinking - "Zen, and the art of driving", - that Apple and iPhone REALLY took off after they opened up iOS for third party development and the App Store. Not only did it create a wealth of useful apps for the platform, but gave them a nice revenue stream as they took a cut of the app sales.

Seems like Tesla should follow suit, and create a "sandbox" development API that we could write apps for (like that "toot toot" horn button I want!) while keeping the important bits of the kernel protected. 

Or maybe just port it all to iOS?

It's either that, or we start talking about "jailbreaking" it! 

Thoughts?


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## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

My initial thought is it’s a car, not an iPhone. I’d rather Tesla prevent as many 3rd party developers from knowing how the system works. Building a SDK for the Tesla OS would inherently provide more insight into how the system works and open the doorway to nefarious developers from exploiting the systems. Besides, legally speaking, they’ll be limited on what they can allow to run while the vehicle is in motion.


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## Bokonon (Apr 13, 2017)

I agree with @shareef777 -- allowing third-party apps would add a TON of complexity (not to mention liability and support overhead) at a time when the firmware team is already busy solidifying HW3 support and patching various MCU stability issues.

The one exception that I can see *maybe* happening within the not-too-distant (but not-near) future would be allowing certified third-party game developers to offer their own ported (or original) games on the Teslatari emulator. Since the emulator is already sandboxed (I hope?!) and can only be run while the car is parked, it would limit the potential for a nefarious developer to cause harm (of both the digital and bodily varieties). Over time, the emulator could be enhanced and expanded until it were closer to a general-purpose application container than an Atari emulator.

But even with a limited scope for third-party developers, Tesla would still have to devote resources to certifying the developers and their games, and to proactively identifying and patching any leaks in the sandbox that could potentially leave other vehicles systems vulnerable to attack. At a time when Elon is personally approving budgets and expenses, I just don't see it happening anytime soon.


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## DocScott (Mar 6, 2019)

In addition to security, I'd worry about the MCU getting overloaded.

On my laptop, I'm capable of adding third-party stuff that gives me more and more features but makes the computer run less and less smoothly. I find my own level where I've got features I really want, but the computer still runs at a decent speed and doesn't crash all the time. But for a car I'm not sure the decision on that level should be left up to the owner.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

They just need a way to allow your phone to control a single "window" on the Tesla. Then you can have your phone do whatever it wants to just that window.


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## StromTrooperM3 (Mar 27, 2019)

garsh said:


> They just need a way to allow your phone to control a single "window" on the Tesla


I'd prefer the ability to roll all 4 up and down from the app


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