Cloud driver profiles mean any Tesla could automatically become your Tesla

Tesla has a plan to move its personalized driver profiles, which track things like seat and steering wheel position, to the cloud. This would mean Tesla drivers can download to them to theoretically any connected Tesla vehicle and have all their driver preferences in place, including regenerative braking, temperature units, map settings and more.

Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk tweeted the news about server-stored profiles in response to a question from a Tesla owner, which actually wasn’t specifically asking about driver preferences that follow you across vehicles.

Musk noted that Tesla’s plan was to move “all info and settings” to cloud-based storage, so that “any Tesla you drive in the world automatically adjusts to you.” I remember when driver profiles specific to vehicles were introduced – it was like a revelation. Being able to have that same experience even when you’re popping into a rental car, a friend’s vehicle, or a Tesla connected to a future brand-wide opt-in ride sharing service would be amazing.

Tesla’s also setting the stage here for something that will likely become even more important to automakers in general in the future: A persistent, data-rich profile of a user that extends over time, much like a Google account. The auto industry seems bound to evolve to place more emphasis on shared services in place of traditional ownership, and that kind of customer relationship will be key as we move towards that.

Tesla is arguably already best-positioned to build those kinds of lifetime customer bonds, but features like cloud profiles could help deepen the connection, giving the carmaker an advantage that can’t be matched by technical innovation alone.