Tesla Developer API Guide: Developing third party apps (Part 2)

In the last post we have seen how to start with the initial partner onboarding, third party registration of the app with Tesla, user authentication, user authentication and authorization. Once we are set with the basics, we can start consuming the fleet APIs for different commands and operations.

The APIs are grouped under 4 major categories.

1) User Endpoints – The user profile APIs offer a comprehensive suite of operations enabling developers to access and manage user-specific information. These APIs provide information about the Tesla account holder, including their name, and email address. By utilizing these APIs, developers can seamlessly integrate user profile data into their applications, enhancing personalization and user experience.

2) Charging Endpoints – These APIs provide information about the charging history and the charging sessions along with the pricing and energy data for the business accounts that own a fleet of vehicles. This helps the Tesla owners to track their charging history and charging costs.

3) Vehicle commands – APIs offer a spectrum of functionalities enabling remote control and management of Tesla vehicles. Developers can send commands to Tesla vehicles, such as locking/unlocking doors, controlling climate settings, initiating software updates, and managing vehicle security features. Leveraging these APIs, developers can create applications that provide enhanced convenience and control over Tesla vehicles.

4) Vehicle Endpoints – These endpoints grant access to a diverse range of vehicle-related data and information. Developers can retrieve driver status, including service status, warranty details, subscriptions, and nearby charging sites. Additionally, these APIs facilitate retrieving historical vehicle data, vehicle service records, and firmware release notes. Integrating these endpoints allows developers to create comprehensive applications offering insights into vehicle performance and usage patterns.

By exploring and harnessing the capabilities of these distinct API categories, developers can craft innovative applications tailored to diverse user needs. The possibilities range from enhancing user interactions with their Tesla vehicles to creating sophisticated energy management solutions.

Use cases

The Tesla Fleet APIs can be used to create a wide variety of applications. Some of the most promising use cases include:

• Fleet management: Tesla Fleet APIs can be used to manage fleets of Tesla vehicles, including tracking their location, monitoring their health, and scheduling maintenance.
• Car sharing: Tesla Fleet APIs can be used to create car sharing applications that allow users to rent Tesla vehicles on an hourly or daily basis.
• Insurance risk assessment: Tesla Fleet APIs can be used to assess the risk of insuring Tesla vehicles by analyzing their driving data.
• Home automation: Tesla Fleet APIs can be used to integrate Tesla vehicles with smart home systems, allowing users to control their vehicles from their homes.

In addition to these specific use cases, the Tesla Fleet APIs can also be used to create a variety of other applications, such as trip planning, parking, and emergency response.

Implementation Architecture

Serverless computing can play a significant role in implementing the Tesla API as a third-party app. By leveraging serverless architecture, developers can build and deploy applications without managing servers, reducing operational overhead and costs.

Here are specific examples of how serverless computing can be beneficial for Tesla API implementation using AWS as the cloud provider.

1. Handling User Authentication and Authorization:

• Use AWS Cognito and Lambda to create serverless functions that handle user authentication and authorization tasks, such as verifying user credentials and validating access scopes.
• Also, use KMS and Secrets manager to securely store and access the access token, refresh, and identity token issues by Tesla auth server
• Using AWS Cognito also lets the user to sign up with social logins like Gmail, Facebook, etc.

2. Processing and Storing Data:

• Utilize AWS Lambda to process and store Tesla API data, such as vehicle location, charging status, and energy consumption.
• Use SQS for decreasing the latency of the request. Also queue acts as a service delivery for any data from Tesla.
• Telemetrics type of huge data can be stored in S3 before it can be put in a SQL(RDS Aurora) or NoSQL(DyanmoDB or DocumentDB) format Databases for it to be consumed by the application user.

3. Triggering Actions Based on Events:

• Employ AWS Lambda or AWS Step Functions to create serverless workflows that trigger actions based on specific events, such as a change in vehicle status or a charging session completion.

4. Sending Notifications and Alerts:

• Leverage AWS SNS or AWS SES to send notifications and alerts to users or system administrators, such as low battery alerts or maintenance reminders.

5. Scheduling Tasks:

• Utilize AWS Lambda or AWS CloudWatch Events to schedule tasks, such as periodic data aggregation or daily usage reports.

6. Managing API Access and Security:

• Implement AWS API Gateway to create a secure and scalable API gateway for accessing Tesla API resources.

7. Monitoring and Troubleshooting:

• Utilize AWS CloudWatch to monitor the performance and health of serverless functions and resources, enabling proactive troubleshooting and resource optimization.

By employing serverless computing, developers can focus on building the core functionalities of the third-party app, leaving server management and infrastructure provisioning to AWS. This approach streamlines development, reduces costs, and increases scalability.

Happy learning and share your insights into harnessing the power of Tesla’s Developer APIs!