With Rdio’s unfortunate demise, owners of Tesla Motor’s Model S electric car were left in the lurch — the music service was the company’s official partner for in-car streaming, along with Tunein Radio. Now, a couple of weeks after Rdio shutting its doors, Tesla has announced that Spotify will take the reins for the Model S’ in-car entertainment.
Rdio Is Dead, And Pandora Is Buying The Corpse For $US75 Million
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Rdio was one of the first subscription-based streaming music services to hit it big worldwide, and enjoyed early adopter success in Australia, but quickly paled in comparison to Spotify, especially when its competitor introduced a free ad-supported listening tier.
Tesla Motors’ integration of Rdio into the Model S and Model X electric sedan and SUV’s 17-inch touchscreen display in the cars’ dashboard was not the full-fat Rdio service — it didn’t allow on-demand listening of specific songs or albums, even when a paid-for Rdio Unlimited account was signed in — but did not come at an additional cost to owners.
The Model S’ always-on 3G in-car connectivity used for Rdio, Tunein internet radio and now Spotify, is also free for owners and is a partnership between Tesla Motors in Australia and Telstra.
As part of the new deal with Spotify, Tesla owners will be able to access their existing playlists and saved music library in cars, and will be able to play customised radio stations through Spotify as well as playlists curated by the music streaming service itself. Premium accounts for existing Spotify users will work in the Model S.