Tesla Motors is known for making luxury electric vehicles, but it is looking to expand beyond that title. According to Recode, Tesla has been talking to music labels about licensing rights to create its own music streaming service.
The surprising news comes from music industry sources. These sources revealed to Recode that Tesla has had conversations with every major music label about a possible deal. No specifics about the conversations were mentioned, only that Tesla is looking create its own “Pandora-like web radio” for its customers as well other tiers of service.
It’s surprising to hear Tesla is looking into possibly signing its own deal with record labels instead of partnering up with Apple Music or Spotify to offer a similar service. Tesla is already partnering up with Spotify to incorporate its service into Teslas sold outside of the U.S.
In response to the report, Tesla released a statement pointing out that its goal is to create an experience for its customers rather than go after the streaming market alone.
“We believe it’s important to have an exceptional in-car experience so our customers can listen to the music they want from whatever source they choose,” stated the Tesla spokesperson. “Our goal is to simply achieve maximum happiness for our customers.”
For now, it is only talks Tesla is having with music labels. Nothing has been signed. Once more news is revealed of whether talks are advanced or killed, we’ll pass it along.