The Tesla Key Card is the company’s answer to the pain of the traditional car key. The pocket-sized card is designed to be a backup method to your Phone Key or key fob, which are the preferred method to lock and unlock your car.
The cards are durable, waterproof, require no batteries, cheap to replace (only $35 for two, where a normal key may cost upwards of $300 to replace and reprogram), and make it easy to revoke access in the event a keycard is lost or stolen. The same goes for Tesla key fobs, which are an optional extra for Model 3 or Model Y, but come standard with Model S or Model X.
The Tesla Key Card is compatible with all Model 3 and Y vehicles, and the refreshed 2021+ Model S and X.
Use Android Phone as Key Card
You can use your phone as a key card via NFC! The feature is enabled by default when you add your device as a phone key, so make sure NFC is on, and try it out! Tap your phone on the b-pillar to unlock/lock the car. If this doesn’t work, go to the contactless payment settings on your device and make sure “Tesla” is enabled as a contactless payment method.
You can use an Android phone as a Key Card to open your Tesla
How to use the Tesla Key Card
Remove the key card from your pocket, wallet, etc. The key card may not be recognized while inside a wallet, due to interference from other contactless cards.
Place the card flat against the b-pillar (between the front and rear doors), just a few inches below the camera hidden behind the glass.
You’ll hear a single chirp from the vehicle to indicate it’s unlocked (if you have the feature enabled, otherwise the lights will flash to indicate it’s unlocked). Remove the key from the car, enter the vehicle, and you’re good to go!
If more than approx. 30 seconds passes between unlocking the car and placing your foot on the brake, a message will pop up on the screen to indicate you need to tap the key again to be able to drive. The screen will show a graphic demonstrating how and where to place the card - this varies between different vehicle models, so follow the on-screen instructions for your specific vehicle.
How to Add a New Key Card
Note: You will need an existing key to add a new card. Enter your vehicle and open the Car menu on the screen. Navigate to the Locks section, and press the button to add a new keycard.
Follow the on-screen instructions to set up the new card - these instructions vary between vehicle models.
How to Remove a Key Card If Lost or Stolen
If you have lost a key card or wish to prevent a key card from accessing your vehicle, you can revoke access. To do so, enter your vehicle and open the Car menu on the screen. Navigate to the Locks section, and press the trash can icon next to the key card you wish to remove.
Follow the on-screen instructions. If you’re unsure which key card is the right one, this trick might be able to help - any time you tap a key card against the center console (3/Y) or wireless charging pad (2021 S/X), it will identify itself from the list on screen.
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The Model X is currently Tesla’s largest vehicle, seating up to seven passengers. However, due to the vehicle’s rounded shape, it offers significantly less cargo room than some of its competitors. While the Model X is amazing with its falcon-wing doors, some families may be forced to look at other brands if they need additional trunk space.
Yesterday, Elon Musk gave Tesla owners hope that there may be a larger SUV in the works. In response to a post asking Tesla to produce larger vehicles, Musk replied OK - once again confirming that there are more things in development than we know about. At the Shareholder Meeting in June, Musk confirmed that there were more Tesla products in the works - but didn’t mention what, so this is our first clue at what these additional items may be.
Musk confirmed that while the Robovan is in development - there are “some other things too.” Robovan itself was shown off at the We, Robot event last month, and it was something utterly different. While the Cybertruck makes a statement - the Robovan looks like the future.
CyberSUV?
Tesla currently sells one vehicle that comfortably seats more than five —the Model X. Its 6-seat configuration is fairly spacious and comfortable, while the 7-seat option offers a bench seat in the middle, removing the center aisle. The Model Y was also previously available in North America with a 7-seat configuration; however, it wasn’t extremely popular due to the sloped roof and lack of legroom in the back. Interestingly, the 7-seater Model Y, recently became available again in China.
While Robovan is going to be a fantastic vehicle for the future, we need to pull back to the present. Robovan is still years away and will require the widespread approval of autonomy regulations to really take off. Most people also don’t necessarily need to transport 20 people—like a bus. Take a look at a family with two to three kids, add in some friends and equipment for a baseball or hockey game, and no Tesla is fitting all those kids and stuff in it today.
One of the few market segments not addressed by Tesla has traditionally been the large-family vehicle - other vehicles like the Rivian R1S or the Kia EV9 have been winning in that particular space.
Tesla now has the Cybertruck as a platform to build upon. Why not leverage that to build other large vehicles? The proposed CyberSUV would be a full-size SUV that comfortably seats 7 and would have plenty of interior space—far more than the Model X.
Tesla has mentioned before that the Model X is not a cheap or easy vehicle to build, partly due to its falcon-wing door design. The Model S and Model X have been rumored to have declining sales. Most of that is due to the Model 3 and Model Y being a much better value, with many owners transitioning from a Model X to a Model Y.
With the Model 3 refresh, Tesla also added many features to the Model 3 that were previously exclusive to the Model S, such as better noise-dampening and ventilated seats. The Model Y Juniper Project, estimated to arrive in 2025, will likely take another bite out of Model X sales. It’s not clear what the future of the Model X is once this larger vehicle arrives on the market.
Our best guess for this new vehicle is that it’ll be a larger, mass-market vehicle for users who like the value of the Model Y but would prefer a larger vehicle.
We’re excited to see what Tesla pulls out from under the covers in 2025. Maybe a CyberSUV may really be coming soon.
As the holiday season kicks off, it’s time to turn our attention to our Christmas list of items we’d love to see in Tesla’s annual Holiday update—a tradition that brings some of the most exciting software features of the year. From game-changing additions to fun surprises, the Holiday update has become the most anticipated update each year.
This year’s update promises to be no exception, with Blind Spot Monitoring While Parked already leaking in an employee release earlier this month.
So, grab your hot cocoa and cozy up—it’s time to see what Tesla might have in store for the most wonderful time of the year.
Smart Voice Assistant
Tesla’s current system is a list of voice commands that, while useful, leaves a lot to be desired when compared to modern voice assistants such as Google Assistant and even Alexa. However, a smart voice assistant based on an LLM that uses AI like xAI’s Grok could be coming this season. Elon previously confirmed that Grok would make its way into Tesla vehicles—and what better time than the Holiday season?
Group Text Support
Today, if you’re in a group chat using RCS or iMessage and use your Tesla messages app to respond, you’ll likely send a direct message to the first person in the group rather than the whole group. What’s even worse is you can’t tell the difference between a message that’s sent directly to you or to a group.
That’s annoying at best, and downright a hassle at worst if you’re driving for a long time and unable to use your phone. It would be a fantastic wish come true if Tesla brought full support for group texts.
Hi-Fi Audio & Dolby Surround Support
Previously, we saw a bug where Apple Music began showing as HiFi for certain tracks in July. We assumed that Tesla would eventually support lossless Hi-Fi audio streaming, but so far, TIDAL remains the only streaming option with high-quality streaming.
Bringing Dolby Atmos support to Tesla vehicles would make even better use of Tesla’s jaw-dropping soundstages. Dolby Atmos delivers an immersive, 360-degree music experience, making it feel like the sound is coming from all around you. This would be the perfect Holiday update feature to make those bells truly jingle.
Tesla has been on a roll with adding music streaming services over the last couple of years. Tesla most recently launched Amazon Music and YouTube Music support. While the biggest players have now been incorporated into Teslas, many users would still love to see Pandora added to the mix.
Adding additional music services means that more users subscribe to Tesla’s Premium Connectivity package, so expect this one to be added as well.
SiriusXM Streaming
While SiriusXM is already available in the Model S and Model X through a satellite receiver, SiriusXM may soon be available to a lot more users. We previously reported on SiriusXM mistakenly publishing a web post revealing a web streaming version of SiriusXM for Teslas, and it has been a few months since then. It's a quick update and seems to have already been partially implemented, given SiriusXM’s website. We could expect this wishlist item to be real, and hopefully soon.
Prime Video
While video streaming integration is much less important than music streaming, it still serves its purpose, especially in vehicles with a rear screen, where videos can be watched while the vehicle is in motion. With Tesla’s addition of Amazon Music this summer, we expect Tesla to add Amazon Prime Video as well.
X Integration
While you can pop open X pretty quickly in the web browser and have a fairly OK browsing experience, it's clear the site is designed for use with a mouse, not your fingers. A dedicated X app would definitely be easier for fans of the platform. Don’t forget to follow us on X or your favorite network (we’re “NotATeslaApp” on just about all of them, including Facebook, Threads, and Bluesky).
Productivity Apps
Zoom is the highlight of Tesla’s productivity apps—and it’s also the only one. With YouTube Music recently arriving, we could see Google Hangouts, Google Meet, and even Microsoft Teams making inroads as productivity applications to have in your Tesla. However, that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Tesla App Store
While a suite of productivity apps would be a nice addition, it’s likely not a practical solution for Tesla. With so many available services, it would be a challenge to integrate each one individually.
Elon Musk once hinted at the possibility of an App Store for Tesla vehicles, where developers could create apps specifically designed for Teslas. However, we haven’t seen this come to fruition yet. So, the question remains: Is Tesla still working on an App Store, or is the expectation that users will rely on tablets and computers in their cars?
If Tesla does plan to launch an App Store, they would need to find a way to leverage existing platforms instead of building each app from scratch. One possibility is running Android apps through an emulation layer, allowing access to a wide array of apps from the Google Play Store, such as video streaming, video conferencing, and messaging platforms like Discord and Slack.
Another approach, similar to what Tesla already does with video streaming services, could involve using web-based versions of apps. While many services offer web versions, not all perform as well or provide the same functionality as native apps.
Both solutions are feasible, but we have to consider: What does Tesla gain by allowing users to run any existing apps on the car’s screen instead of using a separate device? While such apps could be useful, we believe Tesla will likely focus on integrating them where it makes sense—like music services—where a custom implementation improves the user experience and keeps the user interface consistent between services. For most other apps, users will probably continue to rely on their phones and other nearby devices.
Steam Games on AMD Vehicles
Tesla previously removed games from its vehicles, as it removed the dedicated gaming GPU in favor of AMD’s all-purpose APU. However, the all-purpose APU can hold its own while gaming, and in fact, the 45-watt 4-core Ryzen chip is fairly beefy. It could definitely hold its own against the mobile Steam Deck, especially since that also uses an AMD-based platform.
Using Valve’s Proton Compatibility Layer would allow AMD Teslas to game, and game pretty well!
SteamLink App
If Steam support doesn’t come back to allow you to run games directly in your Tesla, SteamLink would definitely do the trick. SteamLink allows you to connect to your own PC at home, letting it do the heavy lifting of rendering the game and letting that device stream the game to you.
Streaming games has become more common, and streaming from your setup at home is the best way to take advantage of that massive display in your Tesla while you’re away from home.
That’s it for our Entertainment wishlist, but we’re sure that you have even more great suggestions. Be sure to let us know your suggestions in our forums.
It shouldn’t be too long before we find out exactly what’s in it, but for now, keep those requests coming!
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