Fleet API budget¶
Tesla bills Fleet API usage to the owner of the Developer app, which in Fleet mode is you. Tesla also gives each developer account a monthly credit, and the app's budget defaults to the same amount, $10 a month, so with the default you should not pay anything.
Bluetooth mode makes no Fleet API calls and costs nothing.
How the app counts¶
The app keeps a count of its own Fleet API calls for the current calendar month (UTC) and turns it into an estimate:
| Call | Estimated cost |
|---|---|
| State read | $0.002 |
| Command | $0.001 |
| Waking the car | $0.02 |
The estimate is the app's own count, not Tesla's invoice: check your real usage on developer.tesla.com.
The home screen shows API: used $ / budget $, amber from 80% of the budget and red when it is used up. Settings → This month shows the reads, commands and wake-ups behind it.
Changing the budget¶
Tap Settings → API budget to cycle through $2, $5, $10, $20 and $50 a month.
When the budget runs out¶
- Cloud state reads stop until the next month. The home screen keeps the last known state and shows how old it is.
- Bluetooth keeps working as usual, for state and commands.
- Commands you confirm still go through the Fleet API when the car is out of Bluetooth range.
Keeping usage low¶
The app already avoids the expensive parts: it never polls the Fleet API in the background, the Tile and confirmation screen read only over Bluetooth, and it wakes the car only for a command you confirmed. Tapping Refresh while the car is far away is what spends the budget, so refresh when you need to.