I already have to carry a few other keys, so the current FOB doesn't really bother me. Saying that, I'd rather have the car do Bluetooth LE and accept my phone as a key.
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Tesla credit card key - who's interested?
- Thread starter DaveT
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- Model S User Interface
I already have to carry a few other keys, so the current FOB doesn't really bother me. Saying that, I'd rather have the car do Bluetooth LE and accept my phone as a key.
It's a good idea, but I agree with others, a Bluetooth pairing with some sort of PIN entry on the center screen would be an ideal option, and more future-proof as we enter the era of 'wearables'. A combination of both options would be ideal, i.e. if you have the key on you, then you don't get prompted for a PIN. If you just have the paired device, then you do, or, maybe even a voice ID, secret password etc etc...there's a lot of cool yet secure ways to do this.
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
@DaveT, a fatter wallet would be my issue too with this; don't want a situation like George's exploding wallet in Seinfeld 
And, oh, hi to a fellow SPG AMEX fan!
And, oh, hi to a fellow SPG AMEX fan!
Actually, I found a even better wallet:
Bellroy Mens Leather Card Sleeve Wallet Cocoa at Amazon Men’s Clothing store
It's much thinner than the Saddleback wallet, and still fits about the same amount of stuff. It also has a cool pull tab for the center pocket that works very well. I highly suggest Bellroy wallet.
This is a photo from Amazon, but you really can fit all that stuff in the wallet.
My wallet is the thickness of 4 sheets (8 folded) of Tyvek. About 1mm when folded. With cards and cash it is basically just as tall as the stack of cards. I make them myself and they last about 6-9 months before starting to lose all shape. They look bad after about 3 weeks though. This one is from December 2013, and is the first version to use stitching versus welding along the sides. It seems to be a great improvement that may double the life of the wallet.
Hard to tell but the Sharpie is about 20% taller than the wallet. I keep 4 proper cards, plus my ID, health insurance. And about 4 bills (totaling $4) in there at the moment. Oh and a single business card.
I wouldn't mind losing the buttons at all. I would for sure buy the credit card FOB. I wouldn't trust bluetooth connections for anything that required security, especially for gaining access to start my car. I guess there are a myriad of ways for Tesla to track / recover a stolen car, so in the end it wouldn't be too big of a deal.
CmdrThor
Active Member
The cool thing about a credit card key for the Model S would be that it would be really simple (IMO) to design and make for Tesla. The car already has the whole system in place, including the existing key fob. All Tesla would need to do would be to remove parts of the key fob (ie., opening frunk, trunk, etc) and just key the proximity function (LF?) so that the car knows the presence of the key. In other words, it's the same keyless entry system the Tesla has already with the key fob, just minus some of the functions.
With a bluetooth system, Tesla would need to design, engineer a system from ground up and it could be complicated, and I personally don't think bluetooth is the best way because of security concerns. There are other methods too like biometric, NFC, etc but those also would require Tesla to design/engineer from ground up.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
ABSOLUTELY NOT. First of all, all the hardware already exists both in mobile phones and the Tesla Model S, so there is ZERO hardware for Tesla to design/engineer. It's already done -- a Bluetooth solution would ONLY require a SOFTWARE solution. Second, since the car already has a Bluetooth radio and interface built in, Tesla would just need to choose (or add) an additional EXISTING Bluetooth Profile (See: List of Bluetooth profiles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ).. in this case, something like Proximity Profile (PXP) or OBject EXchange (OBEX) or any of the other profiles which may be more appropriate and a profile that the mobile phones already support (possibly one of the more generic ones, like Generic Access Profile (GAP), Generic Attribute Profile (GATT), Generic Object Exchange Profile (GOEP), etc. All it would require is an additional button on the mobile app (if this feature is enabled with a PIN on the car): "Start Model S". When you click it, it asks for a PIN, then the mobile phone contacts the Model S bluetooth stack, the PIN is confirmed or denied, and the car is started.
For a Bluetooth developer, this is *maybe* a one-day job, two at most if he sleeps at night. Then a few weeks of testing, etc. But I suspect something like this is pretty low on the priority list.
Just F.U.D. You could say the same thing about NFC, biometric, etc. There's no silver bullet here better or worse than Bluetooth.
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How is this any different than the current 'unlock' button? (other than it goes through mobile networks and through Tesla's servers). What people are looking for is their phone to double as their key (and not require any active maneuvers). Which can't be done via bluetooth securely.
If you want to drive it, wouldn't a password on the screen be a much better solution? I wouldn't want a PIN to allow someone to drive away with my vehicle, and even allowing the option makes it where only a password is securing my vehicle. I won't be able to turn it off.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
Right, you need this to work independent from cell or wi-fi connection service. It's different because even with the "unlock" button, you still can't drive the car away without the key fob.
Why not? Bluetooth security is only as good as the developers. If it's developed correctly, the security is just as good as any other method, including the existing key-fob which works wirelessly also.
And in terms of active maneuvers, if someone stole my phone, I wouldn't want them to be able to steal my car, so a PIN or other active maneuver would guard against that. But hey, if you want to disable that feature for convenience, go right ahead.
It's called two-factor authentication. One would need both parts to start the car-- the bluetooth phone (previously paired and known to the car) AND a PIN (or password or phassphrase). Not Just a PIN code (or password or phassphrase), and not just a phone.
Because even if 100% secure. It would be trivial to pair a device to the vehicle if one had access to it, and thus replicating a 'key'. And pairing devices needs to be somewhat trivial in that you don't want to spend minutes pairing your device to the car.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
It's a one-time thing. If it takes one minute, it's not a big deal. The system will soon have a valet mode with PIN (hopefully) so one could use that same preset PIN in order to pair any new device for key fob function.
It's not rocket science folks.
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