Tesla: moving towards the elimination of the access key card?
This page is translated from the original post "Tesla : vers la suppression de la carte-clé d’accès ?" in French.
- 18/10/2025 12:17
In the United States, the new user manual for the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 no longer mentions the access card…
If you still intended to lend your Tesla to a family member or friend, that will become very difficult very soon…
Following the removal of the windshield wiper control (which reappeared after customer complaints), here is Tesla tackling another perceived unnecessary expense: the access card. But for customers resistant to using only smartphones, this same card should remain optional through the store. Nice.
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A Better Anti-Theft Level?
When you buy a Tesla, two magnetic keys in the shape of a credit card are provided. But this may very quickly change, as the user manuals for the Model Y and Model 3 in the United States have removed this paragraph.
Will this decision first and foremost concern the Model Y Standard, the low-cost version? Every dollar saved seems to be crucial in Tesla’s business model today.
This decision also raises questions: can we imagine BMW, Porsche, Mercedes, or Audi removing the physical key? That accessory which distinguishes a passionate car from a smartphone mounted on four wheels?
In reality, Tesla drivers have already largely shifted to using their phones to unlock their cars. But the magnetic key used to remain a backup solution in case of loss or dead phone battery… or simply to lend their Tesla without lending their phone as well.
Tesla does not justify — as usual — this decision. However, the theft of its cars remains very high despite the technology. Abandoning the magnetic card is a way to enhance security through encryption similar to that used in Apple Pay, for example.
And since people no longer lend their smartphones, they will no longer lend their Tesla. Is that really so serious, after all?
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