I recently discovered The StatsApp-an app for Tesla owners that gives you real time access to your car, a variety of control functions, and helps further integrate a seamless experience for Tesla owners. It can be found in the Apple app store as “Stats: For Tesla Model S/X/3”
There is a lot of functionality built into this app. If you own a Tesla and have Apple products, this is a must have!
The app will analyze your battery health, phantom drain, efficiency, MPGe and more:
[+] Warm-up battery at specified time
[+] Climate scheduling
[+] Learn about your car: Battery Health, Driving Efficiency, Miles Driven, Phantom Drain, Charging History
[+] Charge Reminder, Open Door/Trunk Notification
[+] Allow Sentry mode to be activated automatically
[+] Lots of Siri Shortcuts
Interview with Ramin, the creator below
[TS] Do you remember when you first heard about Tesla?
[Ramin] A colleague showed us his roadster which he bought shortly after its release. It looked amazing. A few years later, he bought one of the first Model S cars that Tesla released. I knew I would want one when I sat in his car and saw its simplicity and functionalities. He wrapped it in hot pink color. The car was for his wife.
[TS] Is there a particular moment or memory that stands out for you?
[Ramin] The first thing that I noticed on Model S was its door handles and how they disappeared when car was locked. That was very unique.
[TS] What were your thoughts then?
[Ramin] For a while I was very skeptical about it. Especially after an article I read in The Economist which was fairly pessimistic about the possibility of Tesla being able to produce cars at large scale.
[TS] How long did you have to wait before you could get a Tesla?
[Ramin] I waited until end of 2016 when a major refresh happened to Model S. I thought that was a good inflection point where not only the appearance of the car changed, but also they started to use cameras instead of radar.
[TS] What model of Tesla(s) do you have?
[Ramin] We currently have a 2018 Model S75D and a 2018 Model 3, Long Range, Dual Motor.
[TS] How long did you have your car before you knew you wanted to make this app?
[Ramin] I took delivery of my first Model S on Dec. 26, 2016. I started writing the app on Dec 27. I had researched the API and was ready to go.
[TS] Why did you want to make it?
[Ramin] Initially the app was supposed to be just a Widget so that I can control the car without unlocking the phone and launching an app. Remember that the Tesla app did not have a Widget back then (I think they added in late 2017, if I recall correctly). The app grew very quickly after I got several feature requests from friends. I published the first version after one month and the app has been growing ever since both in terms of the features and user-base.
[TS] What was the biggest challenge you had going from concept to reality?
[Ramin] One of my main goals was to not cause additional phantom drain. I didn’t want to run my code on a server and hammer the car with information requests. I wanted the code to run locally on user’s device and connect to the car as minimally as possible. This introduced some interesting challenges because I had to deal with iOS constraints on how often an app is allowed to work in the background (which is heavily constrained by iOS in order to protect device battery consumption) and I had to be mindful of restrictions imposed by Tesla API and make sure that I don’t miss any important data.
Another challenge was to design the app so that it provides useful and actionable data to the user. As a data scientist, I have learned that data is useful when it is curated and interpreted. For example, when I present the efficiency statistic in the app, I also let the user know what percentage of users get better efficiency than theirs.
[TS] How long have you been doing this?
[Ramin] I have started developing apps as a hobby in 2008 shortly after Apple opened the API. I have been working in technology since 1996 after getting my PhD. I have stayed hand-ons even after I have been give managerial responsibilities.
[TS] What kind of reaction have you had from the Tesla community?
[Ramin] I have written and published about 30 apps since 2008. What I have noticed about users of my Tesla app (Stats for Tesla) is that they are by far nicer, more educated, and more tolerant. This is why the app has grown so much since its inception in 2017.
The community has been absolutely supportive and this is shown by the kind comments from users in the App Store. I have never received so many positive reviews for any of my apps.
[TS] Any specific stories or experiences you would like to share about what you are doing or about any individual experiences with your product?
[Ramin] I sometimes show my app on my iPhone to friends who ask me about it. After giving a tour of the app for a friend, he was so impressed with the level of automation that can be done with Tesla and the type of statistics that can be obtained that he went for a test drive in my Model S and ordered one the next day. I thought that was an extreme reaction to an app, but it was a memorable experience for me.
[TS] How has doing this changed you, either this product or just being apart of the Tesla community, how do you see this whole experience has changed you?
[Ramin] Writing apps for me in general has a very calming effect. It’s a bit like meditation because it purges other thoughts out of the head. On the technical side, I have learned a lot by writing this app because the app has so many features now which I did not imagine when I first started writing it. I also like the daily interaction with my users on twitter, various Tesla forums and through email.
[TS] If you could meet with Elon Musk for lunch, what would you want to talk about?
[Ramin] I was actually supposed to meet with him once with our CTO in my previous job (in a big telecom company), but the meeting somehow got canceled. If I get the opportunity again, I have some concrete ideas about improving the API and modernizing it. As a computer vision and AI engineer, I also have some ideas about using the cameras which I’d love to discuss with him.
[TS] What about you, what inspires you?
[Ramin] I like to use my background in math and science to develop things that are used by people. These days my interest is in using AI for medical diagnosis.
[TS] Do you have any advice for any other budding entrepreneurs wanting to do their own thing?
[Ramin] My advice is to start it as a hobby, develop it while you are doing your day-job and expand it. I always say ideas only worth something if they are actually implemented and deployed. It is such a gratifying experience to see the result of your work being used by others.
[TS] Is there anything else you would like to share so people know a bit about the human behind the Stats: For Tesla Model S/X/3 app?
[Ramin] I have several hobbies ranging from playing the classical guitar to rock climbing to AI to app development. Many of the apps that I use on a daily basis are developed by me for me or for my friends.
[TS] What is the best way for people to find you and your app?
[Ramin] I have included a Support button in Stats (all my apps include a support button). On Twitter I am @StatsTeslaApp. I respond to most queries in less than a minute (if I’m awake)
Websites, social media accounts etc…
Web: Maadotaa.com
Twitter: @StatsTeslaApp
Instagram: tesla_stats
Email: apps@maadotaa.com
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Wade Anderson is a Model 3 performance owner, he runs the Tesla Social website and YouTube channel.