What the business is
An app described as Strava for EVs that analyses owners' charging and driving data, for Tesla and Rivian vehicles.
The bet
That EV owners will pay $5.99 a month for deep, comparative analytics of their own car's data, enough to fund TezLab without outside capital.
Starting capital
Bootstrapped, per founder Ben Schippers.
How it started
Ben Schippers built TezLab as an EV app, starting with Teslas and recently adding Rivian. Tesla quietly released an official API for third-party developers about a year before, and Schippers said his team of five spent much of that year working with Tesla to understand what data it gives and how to interpret it.
What happened
That let TezLab go from simple controls and trip tracking to a full experience. In October 2024 it launched a 'car report' section for Pro subscribers at $5.99 a month, showing things like DC fast charging versus home charging, charges to 100% and a range map, with battery comparisons against other owners. Schippers plans to add Hyundai and Kia, which needs relationships with those automakers and more resources, while funding operations from customers and Pro subscriptions.
What has to be true
Automakers do not usually give owners a good way to explore their vehicle data, TechCrunch noted.
Tesla's official API let TezLab move beyond simple controls to a full data experience.
Comparisons with other owners of similar models give users something they cannot get elsewhere.
Charging for Pro lets a bootstrapped five-person team fund growth without outside capital.
What can be applied
A small app built on a platform's official API can turn that access into a paid product, but stays dependent on the platform's rules and each new automaker's cooperation.
Aftermath
As of 2024-10-09 TezLab had launched car reports for Pro subscribers on Tesla and Rivian, with Hyundai and Kia planned; the company reported no subscriber numbers.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE