TORONTO -- An “exclusive” dating app for Tesla owners who are obsessed with their electric vehicles and company CEO Elon Musk is just a joke – for now – according to the Canadian who came up with the idea.
Photos of a new app called Tesla Dating began floating around online earlier this week, prompting headlines like “Finally, a dating app for Tesla owners and Elon Musk worshippers.” But the app is not real – at least not yet.
What started out as a funny idea designed to poke fun at Tesla owners who only want to talk about how much they love their cars, may soon turn into an exclusive dating network.
The person behind the concept is 25-year-old Ajitpal Grewal, a self-described e-commerce entrepreneur from Brampton, Ont.
Grewal says he came up with the idea after hearing countless car owners talk about how much they loved their Teslas. “It seemed like once they became a customer, that’s all they wanted to talk about,” Grewal said in an email to CTVNews.ca on Friday. “It’s a big part of their identity, and they share a lot of the same values.”
With the rise in Tesla’s popularity, Grewal saw an opportunity to have a little fun and says his original intention was to create a parody dating app similar to Tinder or Bumble, but not everyone realized it was a joke.
“The site has been gaining a lot of interest, especially on Twitter, from Tesla owners and non-owners alike,” he said. Grewal recently launched a website where interested users can sign up for early access if the app becomes available.
“As of this morning we’re at 1,000 sign ups for early access,” Grewal says. “While I did consider starting development, as of now the app is just a parody with some more potential if I see interest.”
In recent years, Teslas have become widely popular and highly-sought after, mainly for the vehicles’ technological features, like autopilot and electric-powered performance. The price for the company's latest cybertruck – an all-electric vehicle designed to have the utility of a truck with sports car performance – starts at US$39,900. An additional US$8,000 is required if you want to enable the full self-driving feature.
Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk is one of the most outspoken leaders in the tech industry. His controversial tweets are frequently the subject of criticism, as well as his business practices. Despite these shortcomings, he and his company continue to reach new heights.
In July, Tesla became the most valuable automaker in the world after the company surpassed the market value of Toyota Motors, which previously held the position.
