Tesla IS a Digital Media Company

My obsession with Tesla continues.

As you likely know, I am CEO of Manatt Digital Media Ventures, and I keep getting asked the same question -- i.e., what is "digital media"?  And, I keep giving the same unsatisfying answer -- i.e., I define that term very broadly.  Very broadly.

Case in point Tesla.  I could argue that Tesla is a digital media company.

Here is my rationale:

-- It is undisputed that Apple is a digital media company -- perhaps THE quintessential digital media company of the past decade;

-- Why? Because Apple seamlessly combines beautiful hardware with intuitive software and rich media services to create great immersive customer experiences (this has been Apple's recipe for disruption of the CE space);

-- Tesla, like Apple, seamlessly combines beautiful hardware with intuitive software and rich media services to create great immersive customer experiences (that is Tesla's recipe for disruption of the automobile space).  If you haven't sat in a Tesla Model S, go to a showroom near you and do it.  And, just take a look at the over-sized tablet computer that fills the entire console space between the two front seats.  That's where you access all rich media (essentially any music service you could ever want), your Google Maps for full-screen navigation, and -- a bit frighteningly -- full web searching as you drive!  And, Tesla is the first car company that updates your software throughout the life of your car, meaning that your immersive customer experience is always state-of-the-art (so long as the hardware -- the car itself -- can support it);

-- Given all of this above, and by the transitive property, Tesla is a digital media company.

And, for this reason, and as I have argued before, it is not inconceivable that Apple ultimately buys Tesla.  Yes, it would be audacious.  But, strategically, it could be seen as being a very logical move by Apple's part.  First the Mac.  Then the iPod.  Next the iPhone.  After that, the iPad.  Coming soon -- how soon? -- the iTV and Apple's long-anticipated quest to disrupt the living room experience.  What's after that?  Apple in your home away from home -- your car ...

It certainly has the cash ....