After years of requests, Tesla will be adding Apple Watch and other smart watch support as a way for owners to access their vehicles. The addition of the feature was agreed to by Elon Musk, so the timeline for when Apple Watch support will finally arrive is unclear.
One of the big perks of being a Tesla owners is no longer having to haul around a set of car keys with you where ever you go. Instead, the company provides owners with key cards, which are the same as your credit card, to lock, unlock, and drive your vehicle. Tesla takes it a step further however with a mobile app, which you can download and install on your mobile phone to act as your keys.
Opting for the mobile app has distinct advantages over the key cards, the biggest of which is you (almost) never have to take your phone out of your pocket, as a Bluetooth connection will automatically unlock your car as you approach, or lock it as you walk away, and will also allow you to simply put your foot on the brake to “start” the vehicle. Tesla recently improved the reliability and accuracy of the phone key by adding Ultra-wideband support.
Despite this convenience, it has its drawbacks, namely that you don’t always carry your phone with you. It is in those scenarios that being able to access your car through your wearable device, like an Apple Watch, would come in handy, not to mention those rare times when your phone unexpectedly runs out of battery.
It is that specific scenario that caught Musk’s attention, with X user Danielle (@dani_elle831) saying she was locked out of her Tesla after her phone’s battery died. While she was able to get back in after contacting her husband to unlock the car from his phone, Danielle asked Musk if the company could add support for “Apple Watch or other smart watch[es].”
In typical Musk fashion, he responded with a simple “Sure.”
Sure
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 3, 2024
Given Musk’s penchant for agreeing to adding features, only to have them not show up for years, or never at all, the timeline for when Apple Watch support and support for other wearables, will be added by Tesla is unclear.
There is also a question of what functions the Tesla wearable app will be able to perform. Tesla could release something simple that just allows you to lock and unlock your car, as Danielle requested. Hopefully Tesla takes it much further than that, and provides access to HVAC controls, the ability to turn on Sentry Mode, and much more, to mimic the mobile app as best they can.
If Tesla’s developers are looking for ideas, product designer Rehan Butt has come up with a brilliant concept, which you can see here.
