Spotify monthly active users

Between 2015 and 2022, US public EV charging stations and Spotify monthly active users both grew substantially, correlating at 0.9655 across eight data points. The obvious connection is that people need something to listen to while waiting for their car to charge, and Spotify has positioned itself as the answer. The less obvious connection is that there is no connection—both are technology adoption curves from the same era, growing because their respective industries invested heavily in infrastructure and acquisition. The EV charges the car. Spotify charges the mood. Neither explains the other.

EV charging stations grew from roughly 30,000 in 2015 to over 140,000 by 2022, driven by federal and state incentives, Tesla's Supercharger network, and automaker commitments to electrification. Spotify grew from approximately 100 million to over 450 million monthly active users, driven by free-tier acquisition, podcast investment, and emerging market expansion. Both are technology platforms in their growth phase during the same 8-year window.

Eight data points of two technology platforms in their growth phase will always produce a strong correlation. The r-value describes the shared shape of adoption curves, not a relationship between kilowatt-hours and playlists.