When you buy a new Tesla, you get a little credit-card-sized device that acts as a key for the car. Of course, the automaker still provides owners with a key, and it also offers a mobile app for locking and unlocking (you still need to open the doors with those hands of yours). However, Tesla appears to have removed mention of the key cards from new owner’s manuals, indicating the brand may be doing away with the free accessory.
Tesla Provided Key Cards For Free, But Potentially Not For Much Longer
Tesla
Originally, when you looked into the user’s manual for your Tesla Model 3 (or Model Y, for that matter), you’d see a sentence explaining what the card’s function is: “Tesla provides you with two Model 3/Y key cards, designed to fit in your wallet.” Now, the sentence is gone. However, you can still buy them via the Tesla shop. For now at least, it seems that Tesla will remove them from future models. At a guess? People may not be using them much.
It’s another money-saving tactic, with Tesla only having to manufacture the cards it has actually sold via the store. Following the debut of its Standard Model 3 and Model Y, it’s the latest in a push towards affordability from Tesla. Of course, the lack of a big price tag also means an absence of features.
I Don’t See The Point In Keycard Access
James Riswick
Personally, I don’t see much use in the whole car key card key thing. It’s an additional redundancy in a day and age where most people are still carrying and using traditional keys. Some autmakers bill alternative key solutions as good for those with active lifestyles: why take your car keys with you somewhere they can be damaged or lost? It still applies with a key, and it’s still something you can damage or lose.
I’ve also never lost or damaged my car keys in all my years of skiing, rafting, mountain biking, and climbing. It’s tough to blame Tesla, but the brand’s history of removing things abruptly and without announcement may irk owners. I know it drives me nuts, and I don’t even own one. No one wants to find their car has one less feature by way of omission, no matter how irrelevant the feature may be.
