Optiwatt is now another third-party application to integrate with Tesla’s official API, according to an announcement made by the company’s founder Casey Donahue.
Tesla recently rolled out support for official oAuth integrations, allowing for more secure, permission-based connections between third-party apps and Tesla vehicles.
Optiwatt is a free third-party application designed to optimize electric vehicle (EV) charging by automatically scheduling charging sessions during periods when electricity rates are lowest. The app offers real-time rate tracking and forecasting, end-to-end encryption for secure connections, and customizable scheduling options. Users can also track their home energy usage and connect smart thermostats to further reduce costs.
According to Optiwatt, it claims to help users save an average of $388 per year on EV charging costs and reduce their charging costs by up to 70%. The app supports a wide range of EV models and is compatible with various utility plans, including time-of-use, tiered, and real-time energy plans. It also offers features like cost tracking, gas savings calculations, and environmental impact statistics.
Tesla’s developer documentation outlines a three-step onboarding process for third-party applications to gain access to its API. The process begins with creating a Tesla account, followed by submitting an access request that includes legal business details, app name, description, and purpose of usage. Once approved, the third-party app will receive a Client ID and Client Secret, which can be used to obtain a user Access Token with OAuth 2.0 authentication.
Vehicle owners will maintain control over which applications have access to their account information and can modify these settings at any time. This move by Tesla opens the door for more secure and versatile interactions between Tesla vehicles and third-party applications.
While Optiwatt says it is the first third-party app to use Tesla’s API, back in August, Standard Fleet integrated the Tesla API for its customers.
